'Three inter-state narcotic smugglers among seven held in JK'

Seven alleged drug peddlers, including three members of an inter-state gang, were arrested and 436 kg of poppy straw was seized from them in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, police said Monday.

The three inter-state narcotic smugglers -- Harjinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Sukha Singh from Punjab -- were arrested when they were trying to smuggle 126 kg of poppy straw from the Kashmir Valley, Senior Superintendent of Police, Udhampur, Rayees Bhat said.

He said a police party during vehicle checks noticed a Jeep tow chained to a load carrier at Jakheni on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The police searched the vehicle carefully, during which huge quantity of poppy straw was found in a false compartment in the load carrier, Bhat said.

He said an alleged drug peddler Milap Chand, alias Labbu from Birnoo village in Ramnagar, was arrested during patrolling in Udhampur district on Sunday evening. The police seized 300 grams of charas from him. In nearby Ramban district, a police spokesman said the force recovered 300 kg of poppy straw from a Jammu-bound oil tanker near Cafeteria Morh in the highway town.

However, the tanker driver managed to escape after his vehicle was stopped, Bhat said, adding that efforts are on to nab the driver.

The poppy straw packed in gunny bags was kept in one of the empty compartments in the oil tanker, the spokesman said.

Sachin Kumar, a resident of Punjab, was arrested after police recovered 10 kg of poppy straw from his possession at Panjtirthi in Jammu, he said.

He said two more peddlers -- Vijay Singh and Manpreet Singh -- were arrested after 25 grams of heroin worth Rs 1.25 lakh was recovered from them in Gandhi Nagar area of Jammu.

They were riding a two-wheeler when they were stopped by police for checking, he said.

Separate cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were registered in the police stations concerned against the accused who are currently being questioned, the spokesperson said.