Police said they recovered eight packets of heroin weighing one kg each concealed in an apple box. (File Photo) Police said they recovered eight packets of heroin weighing one kg each concealed in an apple box. (File Photo)

The menace of narcotics smuggling seems to have penetrated into the Army after the Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday arrested a soldier and seized 8 kg of heroin from him.

The accused has been identified as Mohammad Anwar, who was posted in Kashmir’s Kupwara district. During interrorgation, the resident of Rajouri district’s Nowshera area claimed he left his unit and was on two days leave.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Jammu) Vivek Gupta, however, said Anwar was a serving personnel and his antecedents were being verified. SDS Jamwal, IGP of Jammu, said they apprehended the army man after receiving intelligence inputs. He said a joint team of police and Special Operation Group (SOG) had set up a checkpoint at Kunjwani and intercepted a Delhi-bound bus from Srinagar and arrested Anwar. Jamwal said they recovered eight packets of heroin weighing one kg each concealed in an apple box.

A senior police official said what was worrisome was the involvement of a serving army man in narcotics smuggling. Police are probing if Anwar engaged in cross-border smuggling since he hailed from Lam, an area situated along the Line of Control, and he was posted in Kupwara, which is also along the border.

The arrest comes two days after police arrested four people in Jammu and seized 15.3 kg of heroin, Rs 24 lakh in cash and two cars from them. The arrested people include Rakesh Kumar alias Bobby of Amritsar, Sanjeev Sharma alias Sanjay of Jammu, Ashtyaq Ahmed of Thanamadi and Sunny Kumar of Smailpur Kothey in Jammu.

Only last month, police had arrested a constable, Mushtaq Hussain of Budhal, on charges of drug peddling in Rajouri district. He happened to be the fifth cop apprehended on charges of drug peddling in Rajouri district during the current year.

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