Another attempt to smuggle narcotics to fund terror groups foiled; 44kg drugs seized in J&K [details]

Foiling another attempt of Pakistan-based groups to smuggle narcotics to fund terror outfits active in the Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir, forces on Saturday recovered 44 kilograms of drugs along of Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources said that the operation to recover the consignment of drugs dispatched from mentors of terrorists sitting across the LoC was started on May 25 and the same was concluded on May 28 with the recovery of a huge quantity of narcotics.

The operation was jointly launched by Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Army along the LoC in Poonch.

Narcotics dropped through drone

Although forces are tightlipped over the means through which such a huge quantity of drugs was smuggled on this side of LoC, it is believed that narcotics were dropped through drones. Before the couriers reached the spot to pick up the drugs, forces got information and a search operation was launched.

"A joint operation by Indian Army and JKP in Poonch from 25-28 May 2022 led to the recovery of approximately 44 Kg of narcotics near Line of Control", a Defence spokesman said.

Earlier, 31 kilograms of narcotics were recovered from the same area.

In January this year, security forces recovered 31 kilograms of narcotics from the same area. On 19 and 20 January 2022, narcotics weighing approximately 31 kilograms have been recovered in a search operation conducted by the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police, very close to the LoC.

Terror groups getting funds through narcotics

As reported earlier, in August 2021, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against the seven arrested terrorists in Handwara narco-terrorism case. NIA's chargesheet had exposed the nefarious designs of terror groups.

The deep-rooted conspiracy for procuring and selling narcotics drugs and generating funds in J-K and other parts of India was unearthed during the questioning of seven arrested accused in the Handwara narco-terrorism case.

During the investigation, it was established that the seven charge-sheeted accused were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy for procuring and selling narcotics drugs and generating funds in J&K and other parts of India in close association with operatives of banned terrorist outfits, Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), based across the border in Pakistan.

The funds generated were pumped for the furtherance of terrorist activity in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir through a network of overground workers ( OGWs).