STF arrests man with ₹5kg heroin

LUDHIANA : In a major drug bust, the special task force (STF) arrested a Jammu native with 5kg heroin during special checking at Panjeta village on the Kohara-machhiwara road on Thursday.

Police said the heroin recovered from the accused, Ashok Kumar, 45, resident of Bargal village in Akhnoor, Jammu district, cost ₹25 crore in the international market. Kumar had hid the heroin in a rice bag in his car, that was also seized by the police.

STF assistant inspector general (AIG), Ludhiana-ferozepur range, Snehdeep Sharma said an STF team had signalled Kumar, who was in a car, to stop for checking at a checkpost in Panjeta village.

But he decided to speed away. Cops at the checkpost pursued him and managed to nab him. On searching his car, the police found a rice bag that was concealing packets of heroin.

Sharma claimed that the accused confessed to have obtained the heroin from Pakistan-based smugglers through the Jammu and Kashmir border.

He had come to Ludhiana to sell it among drug addicts here.

Sub-inspector Harbans Singh, in-charge, STF Ludhiana unit, said the accused was smuggling heroin for over 16 years.

He was earlier arrested in 2001 by the Jammu and Kashmir police for smuggling 10kg heroin, and sent to jail.

But he secured bail in 2004, and returned to drug peddling.