| Kulgam Police bust inter-state drug racket, 2 Delhi natives held in Kashmir heroin network | | Woman supplied narcotics to 200 clients; son of drug Queenpin arrested from Delhi, other family members under scanner | | Early Times Report
Jammu, May 15: In a major breakthrough in the ongoing Nasha Mukti Abhiyan, police in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district have busted an inter-state narcotics racket allegedly being operated by two Delhi natives who were staying in Kashmir and supplying heroin to a large network of drug peddlers and addicts across the region. The accused have been identified as Ahdoos Khan, a resident of Madenpora in Delhi, presently staying at Khanabal Batpora, and Rekha, originally from Bawana in Delhi and currently residing in Sangam, Kulgam. Police said the duo was allegedly running a well-organized narcotics network with links extending to several parts of the country. According to investigators, the racket came to light during sustained anti-drug operations launched by Kulgam Police under the Union Territory-wide campaign against narcotics. The operation began when a naka party from Police Station Qazigund, deployed at Churrat near Kund Mode, intercepted a suspicious individual identified as Shakoor Khan, son of Ahdoos Khan and a resident of Madenpora, Delhi, presently staying at Khanabal Batpora. During a personal search, police recovered a heroin-like substance from his possession. Following the seizure, police registered FIR No. 116/2026 under Sections 8 and 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and launched a detailed investigation. During questioning and subsequent investigation, police traced the supply chain to Rekha, described by officials as a notorious drug peddler with a significant role in the interstate racket. Acting on specific intelligence and after securing a search warrant, police raided her rented accommodation in Sangam. During the search, officers recovered heroin, syringes, aluminium foil and stolen property from a specially constructed underground hideout concealed beneath a bed, allegedly designed to avoid detection during routine searches. Police said Rekha, during preliminary interrogation, admitted to supplying narcotics to more than 200 clients and peddlers across the Valley. She also allegedly disclosed that approximately ₹25 lakh earned through the illicit drug trade had been destroyed in a fire that gutted her jhuggi last year. In another startling revelation, the accused reportedly told investigators that several of her family members were also involved in drug trafficking activities in Kashmir. Acting swiftly on this information, police conducted a follow-up raid in Mir Bazar and apprehended one of her sons, identified as Sadam, who is suspected to be part of the same network. Officials believe the arrests have exposed a large and sophisticated drug distribution chain operating in Kashmir with inter-state connections. Investigators are now working to identify all forward and backward linkages and to determine the full extent of the network. Senior Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Anayat Ali Chowdhary, said the district police remains committed to a zero-tolerance policy against drug trafficking and warned that stringent legal action would continue against all individuals involved in the narcotics trade. He also appealed to members of the public to cooperate with the police and share information about drug peddling and substance abuse so that society, particularly the youth, can be protected from the growing menace of narcotics. |
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