Three drug peddlers arrested in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday booked three notorious drug peddlers under Public Safety Act (PSA) in Srinagar and lodged them in different district jails within Kashmir Valley. At least 30 cases have been registered and 53 arrests made this year so far under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Officials said two of them were lodged at district jail Baramulla and the other at Kupwara in pursuance to detention warrants issued by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir. The trio was identified as Nisar Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Sheikh Colony Kani; Bashir Ahmad Baht, a resident of Barbarshah; and Rayees Ahmad Hakak, a resident of Gulbarg Colony Zakura.
In 2019, Srinagar district police registered 81 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 126 people in connection with the cases besides recovering a huge cache of different drugs and narcotic substances, a police spokesperson said.
“During the current year, 30 cases have been registered and 53 arrested under NDPS Act so far. The drug menace is causing irreparable damage to the society, especially to the well-being of the youth… drug addicts subsequently take to other crimes, which makes the addiction a worse crime,” the spokesperson said.
Srinagar SSP Haseeb Mugal said the anti-drug campaign would be intensified in the coming weeks. “The society must come forward in identifying drug dealers and peddlers to eradicate this menace.”