4 drug peddlers held in J&K's Ramban and Samba; 460 kg poppy straw recovered

Four alleged drug peddlers were arrested after 460 kilograms of poppy straw and 270 grams of heroin was recovered from their possession at different places in Ramban and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Saturday.

Gurpeet Singh, a resident of Ludhiana in Punjab, was arrested after 450 kg of poppy straw was seized during checking of his vehicle at T-Chowk in Banihal area of Ramban along Jammu-Srinagar national highway, a police spokesman said.

He said Singh was on his way to Punjab from Kashmir and was trying to smuggle out the huge quantity of contraband.

The search of another Punjab-bound truck in Banihal that was driven by Jamel Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib of Punjab led to the recovery of 10 kg poppy straw, the spokesman said adding that the driver was arrested.

Two more drug peddlers -- Sandeep Sharma of R S Pura in Jammu and Javed Iqbal of Dhangri in Rajouri -- were arrested along with 270 grams of heroin during vehicle checking at Mansar Morh in Samba district along Jammu-Pathankot highway, the spokesman said.

He said the narcotic smugglers were on their way to Samba from Jammu in their private car when they were intercepted by the police.

All the four drug peddlers were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and further investigation is on, the spokesman said.