ANF seizes 251kg narcotics, arrests 13 in major nationwide crackdown

LAHORE: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) has launched a major crackdown on drug traffickers across Pakistan, recovering over 251.7 kilogrammes of narcotics and arresting 13 suspects in multiple intelligence-based operations, including raids near educational institutions and inter-provincial checkpoints.

According to the ANF, acting on credible intelligence, a team from the ANF Police Station Regional Directorate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa conducted a swift operation in District Khyber on November 4. The information suggested that drugs had been concealed under rocky terrain at a dumping point for onward transportation to Punjab during night hours. The consignment reportedly belonged to a Bara-based drug trafficking network of the Afridi tribe, comprising notorious smugglers.

The ANF team raided the location and seized four polypropylene bags containing 144 kilogrammes of hashish packed in 120 packets, weighing 1,200 grams each. A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway. The spokesperson said the action underscores ANF’s commitment to dismantling organized drug syndicates.

In a simultaneous nationwide operation targeting drug peddling near academic institutions, ANF conducted raids around universities and student-populated areas in Tando Jam, Multan, and Islamabad. In Tando Jam, two kilogrammes of hashish were seized from a suspect near a university. In Multan, ANF recovered 1.5 kilogrammes of hashish near Sher Shah Toll Plaza and another 530 grams near a university on Shujaabad Road. In Islamabad’s Sector I-12, 2.4 kilogrammes of hashish were recovered, and three suspects were arrested. ANF officials said the suspects confessed to supplying drugs to students.

In another attempt to smuggle drugs abroad, ANF intercepted a parcel at a courier office on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot and recovered 345 grams of crystal meth (“ice”) soaked into pages of a package destined for Qatar.

Inter-provincial smuggling attempts were also foiled. Near Chenab Toll Plaza in Gujrat, ANF recovered 4.8 kilogrammes of hashish and 1.2 kilograms of opium from a vehicle, arresting three suspects. In another major seizure in Ferozewala, GT Road, Gujrat, the force seized 70.8 kilogrammes of hashish and 13.2 kilogrammes of opium from a truck and another vehicle, arresting the occupants. Near Mandra Toll Plaza in Rawalpindi, 9.6 kilogrammes of hashish were recovered from an accused.

Domestically, ANF apprehended a suspect near Kandian Phatak in Kasur and recovered one kilogrammes of heroin along with a drone reportedly being used for smuggling. In another operation at Industrial Estate Road, Hayatabad, Peshawar, 400 grams of hashish were seized from a motorcyclist.