SRINAGAR, Oct. 1
Srinagar Police have busted an alleged inter-state narcotics network involved in the procurement, transportation, storage, distribution and financing of banned pharmaceutical drugs, arresting eight people and seizing more than 2.19 lakh tablets and capsules along with cash, gold and other assets worth crores of rupees.
The crackdown followed an investigation into FIR No. 135/2026 registered at Police Station Safakadal. Police said the investigation uncovered a network extending beyond Jammu and Kashmir and led teams to several locations outside the Union Territory.
The eight arrested accused have been identified as Mohammad Waseem Zargar, Inam Ahmad Zargar, Sahib Ahmad Ganie, Ansar Hussain Bhat, Peer Shakoor, Haroon Tariq Pandit, Aquib Saleem and Haris Hameed Malla.
All the accused are residents of Srinagar except Bhat, who is from Budgam.
Police said Malla was tracked through technical surveillance to Bengaluru in Karnataka, where he was arrested.
The investigation has so far resulted in the recovery of 2,19,425 pharmaceutical tablets and capsules, along with 3.830 kg of codeine-based liquid and about 40 grams of a heroin-like substance.
Investigators also recovered approximately ₹85.75 lakh in cash, according to police.
The scale of the financial and material seizures extends well beyond the suspected narcotics.
Police recovered 108 gold coins, gold biscuits and other gold articles stated to be worth crores of rupees. Two Rolex watches, a Dior bag, a DSLR camera and an iPhone 16 Pro Max were among other high-value items seized during the investigation.
A .32-calibre pistol with two empty magazines and a dagger were also recovered.
The financial trail has become an important part of the investigation as police seek to establish how the alleged network was funded and how proceeds were stored or moved.
Acting on court orders, investigators searched two bank lockers belonging to Mohammad Waseem Zargar at Axis Bank in Bemina.
Those searches resulted in the recovery of approximately ₹65 lakh in cash and gold articles valued at around ₹2.20 crore.
Several bank accounts allegedly connected to the accused have also been frozen. Police said around ₹1.07 crore has so far been identified in these accounts.
One residential property and two vehicles have been attached under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The investigation has also expanded outside Jammu and Kashmir as police attempt to reconstruct the supply chain behind the pharmaceutical drugs.
Teams travelled to Chandigarh, Panchkula and Ambala, where investigators examined pharmaceutical establishments and transport agencies and collected records relevant to the case.
The interstate dimension is significant because the investigation is no longer confined to individuals allegedly distributing drugs in Srinagar. Police are examining the procurement and transportation chain that may have enabled large quantities of pharmaceutical substances to reach Jammu and Kashmir.
The recovery of more than 2.19 lakh tablets and capsules indicates the scale of the suspected operation under investigation.
The seizure of cash, gold and luxury goods has simultaneously led investigators to examine the financial network allegedly supporting or benefiting from the trade.
Police have not said that the entire value of the assets recovered represents proceeds of narcotics trafficking. Establishing the origin and ownership of the money, gold and other property will form part of the investigation.
Two suspects remain at large.
Police identified them as Faizan Firdous alias Farzan Khanday and Mohammad Shahvar Gaur. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest them.
Investigators are also examining digital devices recovered during the operation for information that could reveal additional contacts, financial transactions, suppliers and distribution links.
Police said further arrests and recoveries could follow as the investigation progresses.
The case comes amid an intensified campaign against narcotics and drug distribution networks across Jammu and Kashmir, with police increasingly combining conventional seizures and arrests with financial investigations.
Tracing bank accounts, attaching properties and vehicles, and following procurement networks outside the Union Territory can allow investigators to target the wider infrastructure supporting drug distribution rather than limiting action to individual seizures.
The Safakadal investigation appears to have developed along those lines.
What began as a narcotics case in Srinagar has expanded into an interstate investigation involving eight arrests, searches in several states and Union Territories, scrutiny of pharmaceutical and transport businesses, bank-account freezes and attachment of property.
With two suspects still absconding and seized digital devices under examination, the investigation remains active.
The next stage will focus on establishing the full supply and financial chain behind the 2.19 lakh pharmaceutical tablets and capsules recovered, identifying any additional participants and determining where the drugs originated and how they were being distributed.
