A suspected drug peddler allegedly escaped from the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Jammu during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, prompting security agencies to intensify searches and checking operations across the region, according to several media reports.
The accused, identified as Aqib Bashir, a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama district, was arrested by the NCB on September 3 after 522 grams of heroin was allegedly recovered from his possession on a passenger bus in Samba district.
Following his escape at Narwal, police and other security agencies increased frisking and vehicle checks at important entry and exit points to prevent the accused from evading arrest, the reports said.
Search teams have been deployed at multiple locations to trace Bashir, while authorities are also examining the circumstances surrounding his escape from NCB custody.
Bashir’s arrest came during a month-long NCB operation in the Jammu division that, according to the reports, identified two routes used by narcotics smugglers to bring heroin into Jammu and Kashmir.
The routes reportedly involved direct smuggling from Pakistan through the Uri sector and an indirect route through Punjab.