Bhat Yasir
The drug trade in Kashmir has seen a drastic rise in the Kashmir valley during the past few years. Official figures reveal that drugs worth over 12 crores have been recovered from north Kashmir’s Baramulla district alone during the present year.
As per official figures, accessed by The Kashmiriyat, during the first eight months of 2023 drugs, including cash used for drugs, worth twelve crore, seven lakh and fifty nine thousand were recovered by Police in the Baramulla district.
Police data revealed that a total of 213 cases were registered against 313 persons in drug related cases- out of which 289 persons were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Three houses have also been attached by Jammu Kashmir Police in the north Kashmir district that were allegedly accumulated using the money from drugs. Legal experts, however, have verbally challenged the legality of attaching/ freezing the assets.
According to the Police, brown sugar worth 3.47 crores was recovered. The quantity of brown sugar seized by Police during various operations against drug abuse in Kashmir was put at 2.670 kilograms.
Heroin weighing 4.214 kilograms worth 5.89 crores was recovered by Police, as per official figures accessed by The Kashmiriyat.
Charas worth 52.59 lakhs, Poppy straw worth 1.06 crorers were also seized. The Jammu Kashmir Police also claimed to have recovered a cash of 1.13 crores in the north Kashmir district, adding that it seized 25 vehicles used for drug related crime.