Narcotic drugs worth Rs 100 crore, seized from a truck which was coming from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
Authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have detained 27 trucks carrying goods from India to demand the release of their truck and driver detained by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for allegedly carrying narcotics worth Rs 100 crore.
The incident took place on Friday night following the detention of a truck from PoK - as part of the cross-border trade - from which 100 kg brown sugar was seized at the Salamabad trade facilitation centre in Uri in J&K's Baramulla district. The vehicle is part of 47 trucks that have been held up at the centre.
"The PoK authorities have detained more than 20 trucks and their drivers, demanding the release of the driver and the vehicle from that side which was used for smuggling drugs," Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla GA Khwaja told PTI.
Officials claim that they allowed 46 trucks to return but Pakistani authorities refused to take them back until the seized truck, allegedly carrying narcotics, was also allowed to go. They said talks between the two sides were on to resolve the issue.
As many as 114 packets of brown sugar were recovered from the truck from PoK. The total weight of the seized contraband was around 100 kgs which is worth nearly Rs 100 crore in the international market, Govind Ratan, Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Uri, said.
The
challan of the vehicle had mentioned almonds as the goods being imported from PoK, he had said.
This was the second such incident since trade began in 2008 across the Line of Control.
In August last year, police recovered cocaine worth Rs 10 crore from a truck plying on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route, at Sheeri in Uri sector.