JAMMU, Oct. 6
Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted an alleged cross-border narcotics network in Jammu and arrested two people, with investigators examining suspected links between drug trafficking from across the border and local distribution channels.
The arrests were made during an operation based on specific intelligence about narcotics movement in the region. Police recovered heroin from the accused, along with other material considered relevant to the investigation.
The operation is being treated as more than a routine narcotics seizure because preliminary investigation has indicated that the contraband may have originated from across the border.
Police are now working to identify other members of the network and establish the route through which the narcotics reached Jammu.
Investigators are also examining the financial and communication records of the arrested men to determine whether they were working with handlers or suppliers outside the region and whether the network had links to other drug consignments.
Cross-border narcotics trafficking has remained a significant security concern in Jammu and Kashmir, where police and other security agencies have repeatedly investigated attempts to move heroin and other contraband through areas close to the Line of Control and International Border.
Such cases are investigated not only as narcotics offences but also for possible wider security implications where evidence points to handlers operating from across the border.
Police have previously said that proceeds generated through narcotics trafficking can potentially be used to support other illegal activities. Any such connection in the latest case, however, would have to be established through the investigation.
The immediate focus is on tracing the source of the recovered heroin and reconstructing the supply chain.
Investigators are expected to examine mobile-phone records, financial transactions and contacts of the accused as they seek to identify the people responsible for supplying and receiving the narcotics at different stages.
The case also highlights the challenge posed by drug-distribution networks that can connect cross-border suppliers with smaller local networks operating inside Jammu and Kashmir.
Breaking such networks generally requires investigators to move beyond the individuals physically carrying the drugs and identify financiers, intermediaries, transporters and distributors involved in the chain.
Police are consequently investigating both backward and forward linkages in the case.
The backward investigation will focus on where the heroin originated, how it entered the region and who arranged its movement. The forward investigation will seek to establish where the consignment was intended to be delivered and whether additional distributors or customers were involved.
Authorities have intensified action against narcotics trafficking across Jammu and Kashmir in recent years, including arrests, seizures of contraband and attachment of properties in cases where assets are found to have been acquired through proceeds from the drug trade.
The latest arrests add to those efforts, but the full scale of the alleged network will depend on what investigators establish from questioning the accused and analysing the evidence recovered during the operation.
Further arrests cannot be ruled out if the investigation identifies additional members of the supply chain.
For now, police have described the operation as the disruption of a cross-border drug network, with the investigation continuing to establish its complete structure, supply routes and possible connections beyond Jammu.
