Drug dealer nabbed from Kashmir by Gujarat ATS

Ahmedabad, Sep 17: A man was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with a racket involved in selling heroin smuggled from Pakistan using sea route, police said Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Gujarat ATS nabbed Nazir Ahmed Thakar on Sunday from a place in Srinagar with the help of local police and brought him here Monday, the ATS said in a release.

This is the third arrest by the Gujarat ATS in the heroin smuggling case.

Last month, the ATS had arrested two men from different parts of Gujarat and seized 5 kg of heroin, worth Rs 14.84 crore in the international market, from one of them.

Thakar, a native of Anantnag in Kashmir, allegedly took delivery of a large amount of heroin from one of the accused, Rafiq Adam Sumra, at Unjha town in Mehsana district a few months back, the police said.

The ATS had nabbed Sumra and one Aziz Abdul Bhagad last month and seized heroin worth Rs 14.84 crore from Bhagad. While Sumra was held from Mandvi town in Kutch, Bhagad was nabbed from Salaya, a coastal town in Gir Somnath district.

During the probe, it came to light that Bhagad had brought around 300 kg of heroin from Pakistan via sea route five months back and gave a large portion of the smuggled contraband to Sumra, the release said, adding the 5-kg heroin seized from the two accused last month was part of that consignment.

Later, Sumra handed over the contraband to Thakar and one of his accomplices, Manzur Ahmed Mir, at Unjha.

The investigation also revealed that Sumra delivered the contraband to Thakar and Mir on the instruction of a Punjab-based drug dealer, identified as Simranjeet.

The ATS claimed that the consignment was transferred to Thakar and Mir for its sale in north India.

Both Mir and Simranjeet are yet to be nabbed, the police said.