Ashrafuddin Pirzada
LANDIKOTAL: District Police Officer Khyber Salim Abbas Kalachi on Wednesday said that a police investigation suggested that 70 percent of narcotics traffickers and dealers have roots in banned terrorist organizations to collect money and use it in terrorism bids in Pakistan.
Talking to this scribe, district police officer Salim Abbas Kalachi said police investigated 500 arrested drug smugglers and dealers and suggested that more than 70 percent of the narcotics smugglers were the touts and frontmen of terrorist organizations who generate money through narcotics dealing and smuggling. He said terrorists then use the money in terrorism bids to create chaos in Pakistan.
District Police Officer said that Khyber police during the past year have conducted several intelligence raids in various areas and recovered a huge quantity of drugs including Ice, hashish, heroin, opium and other drugs. He said police have also closed 35 drug factories in Khyber and recovered different items and equipment being used in drug manufacturing.
He said from January 2023 to March 10, 2024, they recovered different narcotics in police raids and during routine checking at police check posts including Torkham, Michni and Takhtabaig worth rupees four billion.
He said in the past year police have seized a total of 435 kilograms of heroin, 245 kilograms of Ice drug,315 kilograms of opium and 4000 kilograms of Hashish. He said they have also arrested 500 drug traffickers. He said several drug traffickers have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment by courts.
Salim Abbas Kalachi said many drug dealing dens were also closed and sealed shops deal secretly in narcotics in the Wazirdand locality of Jamrud tehsil.
In the 1980s drug dealing and manufacturing were not considered a crime and were against the law in Khyber where heroin factories were established at homes and hujras.
DPO Khyber said they were committed to rooting out all social evils from society He said they have adopted a zero-tolerance policy not to allow anyone either deal, facilitate or smuggle narcotics. He said by the fear of being arrested 90 percent of drug smugglers fled from district Khyber who would also be chased hiding in other parts of Pakistan.
He urged citizens to cooperate with police to break the nexus between police and drug smugglers.
Residents appreciated district police officer Khyber for the action taken against narcotics and its dealers.
He said those arrested in narcotics cases were mostly Afghan nationals who were allegedly members of the international drug mafia. He said heroin is being made locally while Ice drug is being smuggled from Afghanistan.
He said the number of drug-addicted persons especially youth was rapidly increasing in Khyber, causing other social and moral crimes in society.
He said drugs addicted youth in educational institutions were at the top of using ice drugs in universities and colleges.
It may be added here that in the past year, DPO Khyber has dismissed 26 Khyber police officers from service who had links with the drug mafia and found them facilitating drug smugglers.
He said they were working honestly and sincerely so that they could completely wipe social evils out of society to build a healthy and prosperous Pakistan.
