ANF arrests 16 suspects, seizes over 330 kg of narcotics in nationwide operations

RAWALPINDI, Jun 29 (APP): Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) conducted eight operations around educational institutions and in various cities across the country and arrested 16 suspects, including seven women and two Thai nationals, recovering 330.192 kilograms(kgs) of narcotics worth more than Rs 20.7 million, an ANF spokesman said on Monday.

In an operation near the Islamabad Toll Plaza, ANF recovered 2 kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, from a male and a female passenger travelling in a passenger bus.

According to the spokesman, the suspects admitted during initial interrogation that they had been supplying drugs to students of educational institutions.

In an international drug interdiction operation at Islamabad International Airport, ANF recovered 1.878 kg of ice from the luggage of two Thai women travelling to Abu Dhabi.

In another operation at the same airport, officials seized 14.314 kg of ice soaked in clothing packed in the luggage of a male and a female passenger bound for Jeddah.

At a courier office on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi, ANF recovered 16 kg of ice soaked in 14 men’s jackets from a parcel destined for Australia and arrested a suspect.

In a separate operation at a courier office in Karachi’s Federal B Area, officials recovered 7 kg of heroin concealed in a box of socks from a parcel intended for Italy.

During inter-provincial interdiction operations, ANF recovered 226.80 kg of hashish concealed in a truck carrying marble near Sher Shah Toll Plaza in Multan and arrested one suspect.

Near Sheikhupura Toll Plaza, officials recovered 61.2 kg of hashish from a vehicle and arrested five suspects.

In another operation near Ravi Toll Plaza in Lahore, ANF recovered 1 kg of ice from the possession of three women, who were subsequently arrested.

The spokesman said cases had been registered under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, and further investigations were underway.