Nine suspected drug peddlers were arrested with a huge cache of narcotics and cash in Udhampur, Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said Wednesday.

Two Punjab residents, Jagdev Singh of Ludhiana and Balkar Singh of Jalandhar, were arrested after the recovery of 203 kg poppy straw from their vehicle at Chenani on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Udhampur district, a police spokesman said.

At Main Bazzar, Udhampur, the official said they recovered 15 gm of heroin from two persons, identified as Niklesh and Vikas Thakur.

He said while the two were arrested, their third accomplice fled the spot taking advantage of heavy traffic in the area.

Efforts are on to nab him, he added.

In another incident, four suspected drug smugglers, identified as Wahid Ahmad, Abdul Qayoom and Nasir Ahmad of Baramulla district and Charan Singh of Jammu, were arrested with 100 gm heroin, the police spokesman said.

The police team also seized Rs 2.76 lakh in cash during checking of the accused's vehicle at Balol in Indira Nagar, Jammu, the spokesperson said.

Another alleged drug peddler, Bashir Ahmad of Anantnag district, was arrested with 50 gm charas during frisking at Bari Brahmana area of Samba district, he said.

The arrested accused were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and are being questioned, the spokesman said.

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