2 drug smugglers arrested

Two alleged interstate narcotic smugglers, hailing from Punjab, were arrested after 50-kg poppy straw were recovered from a truck in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district on Monday, police said.

An apple-laden truck coming from Kashmir was subjected to checking at Teethaar in Banihal area along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, during which the poppy straw was found concealed in five boxes, a police spokesperson said.

The driver, Varinder Singh, and his associate, Gurpal Singh, were arrested and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. During questioning, the driver revealed that he had bought the consignment from Sangam area of Kashmir and it was meant to be sold in Punjab, the spokesperson said.

The police had foiled several attempts of narcotic-smuggling from the Valley in the past week, resulting in seizure of over 900 kilograms of poppy straw.