Nine arrested as ANF seizes over 1,000kg of drugs across Pakistan

Authorities say Gwadar shipment was headed for sea routes to Gulf countries, Yemen, Tanzania

RAWALPINDI:

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has recovered a total of 1,353 kilograms of narcotics from operations around the country, totalling over Rs77.85 million and leading to the arrests of nine individuals.

According to a statement issued by ANF on Wednesday, nine suspects were arrested in seven separate operations, with 1,353kgs of narcotics seized. It puts the value of the recovered drugs at more than Rs77.85 million.

The ANF said it had been closely monitoring an international drug trafficking organisation (DTO) allegedly operating under the patronage of a notorious drug smuggler, Ishaq Baloch.

According to the ANF, the network is involved in moving narcotics from Panjgur through Turbat to Gwadar and Pasni, from where the drugs are then smuggled by sea using high-speed fishing boats to Gulf countries, Yemen, and Tanzania.

Read: Six Mastung jail escapees surrender after coordinated Balochistan attacks

ANF Gwadar received information that the network was transporting a large quantity of narcotics by truck from Panjgur to Turbat, which would later be moved through different means to the coastline and smuggled abroad via high-speed fishing boats.

ANF said it intercepted the truck on the Panjgur–Turbat National Highway (M-8). A search of hidden compartments in the vehicle led to the recovery of 1,200kgs (1.2 tonnes) of high-quality hashish, and two suspects travelling in the truck were arrested.

Initial investigations suggest the intended recipient of the seized narcotics was Ishaq Baloch. During interrogation, the arrested suspects reportedly disclosed that the drugs had been smuggled from Afghanistan into Pakistan. They were to be transported abroad by sea in high-speed fishing boats under Ishaq Baloch’s direction.

A case has been registered against the suspects under the anti-narcotics law, and legal action has been initiated to arrest the alleged ringleader and other members of the group, the ANF says.

According to the ANF, officers recovered 7.7kgs of hashish from a suspect near a college in Lyari, Karachi. In Hyderabad, it says 2kgs of hashish was seized from a suspect near a university.

Read more: Malakand security to be handed back to civilian forces

The ANF also said the arrested suspects admitted they were selling drugs to students.

Near the Northern Bypass in Karachi, the ANF recovered 120kg of hashish from a vehicle, and two suspects were arrested. Near Ring Road in Peshawar, 18kgs of hashish and 1.3kgs of ice (crystal meth) were seized from a vehicle, and one suspect was arrested, according to the ANF.

In Peshawar, the ANF says 2.4kgs of hashish was recovered from a suspect near a cricket ground, while near the Indus Highway in Kohat, 2kgs of hashish was seized and one suspect arrested.

According to the ANF, cases have been registered under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, and investigations are underway.