Influential drug lords encroached on as much as 150 kanals of prime land on the outskirts of Jammu city and were illegal narcotics bussiness without any fear for the last eight years.
An illegal colony, comprising 160 structures, spread over 150 kanals of land was turned into a hotspot of narco-terrorism as drug traffickers used this place as their "transit camp" to carry forward their activities in different parts of the country.
Fearlessness among the drug lords, operating from this colony can be gauged from the fact that it took 48 hours for the administration to make entry into this kingdom of drug mafias to retrieve the land that was allotted to the Industrial Department 2017 to develop an industrial estate.
"This colony was a hotspot of drug smuggling as drug traffickers were fearlessly doing their illegal business on this encroached land", Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Samba, Vinay Sharma who supervised the whole operation to dismantle narco terror "citadel," told media persons.
Narcotics hotspot destroyed in 48-hour-long operation
Jammu and Kashmir Police along with the District Administration Samba launched a massive crackdown against the drug mafia retrieved 150 kanals of encroached land and destroyed the hotspot of narcotics supply in the Samba district.
The district administration and police team after holding a joint review meeting on this matter, sources said that a surprise raid was conducted in the Balole area.
Shockingly when the team entered the Balole area, the drug traffickers attacked the police and administration parties with stones and sticks. Nine police personnel including three lady constables sustained injuries in the attack.
Land transferred to the Industrial Department in 2017
The huge chunk of prime land, situated just 100 metres away from the Jammu-Pathankot national highway, was handed over to the Industrial Department for the development of the industrial estate.
"It was fear, terror, and influence of the drug lords that the officer of the Industrial Department could not muster guts to get possession of the land", sources said. The was encroached by the drug mafia to develop an illegal colony for their inter-states operations. The drug mafia constructed the 'Kullahs' (hutments), which swelled over a period of time.
The illegal colony turned into a narcotics supply hot spot which the administration which action was initiated but every time the police party was attacked by the miscreants including some history sheeters with stones, sticks, and sharp weapons residing in the 'kullahs' raised on illegally encroached land.
Official sources also revealed that many of the history sheeters, having a criminal background and booked under several cases, were active on social media platforms and seen flaunting weapons.
Notably, this area had become the hotspot for drug activities and 13 FIRs have been lodged against these drug peddlers since 2021.
