Pharmacist among 10 drug peddlers held in Jammu

Ten alleged drug peddlers including a pharmacist were arrested with contraband and narcotic substances in separate incidents in the Jammu region, police said on Sunday.

While eight of the peddlers were arrested from different localities of Jammu district over the past 24 hours, one each was apprehended from Samba and Kathua districts, a police official said.

Parveen Kumar, who runs a pharmacy, was arrested along with his friend Arvind Kumar after 700 intoxicant tablets were recovered from their possession during checking near Bagga Marh Morh in R S Pura on the outskirts of Jammu, the official said.

He said three peddlers -- Vishal Singh, Sadam Hussain and Gagan Singh -- were arrested when six grams of heroin was seized from their possession in Digiana area, while two more peddlers, Pankaj Sharma and Vinod Kudda, were arrested along with 10 grams each of heroin from Roop Nagar and Dogra hall areas of the city.

Jammu Police also arrested Nihal Lokatra and seized 110 intoxicant tablets and two capsules from his possession at Maheshpura chowk in Bakshi Nagar, the official said.

In Samba district, one Suraj Paul was arrested after recovery of 147 intoxicant capsules from him at Mansar Morh, while another drug peddler was arrested along with several kilograms of poppy straw from Rajbagh area of Kathua district, he said.

All the arrested drug peddlers were booked under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and are being questioned, the official said.