PESHAWAR: The city police claimed on Wednesday to have arrested 13 persons in connection with narcotics dealings and recovered drugs worth millions of rupees from their possession.

Briefing reporters at the Malik Saad Shaheed police lines, city police chief Mohammad Tahir Khan said after a month long intelligence gathering they had arrested 13 suspected drug peddlers from limits of Hayatabad and Pishtakhara police stations.

The police officer said the accused were involved in dealings of narcotics, including ice, ecstasy pills and heroine, in various localities. He said among the arrested suspects, 11 were Khogiani Afghans who had obtained fake Pakistani CNICs.

He said the police had also recovered 4.6kg ice, 3,958 ecstasy pills, 11kg heroine, 29kg charas, three cars and a motorcycle from their possession.

Tahir Khan said in the first instance, Hayatabad police intercepted a car at the Karkhano checkpost and arrested two accused identified as Syed Bahar and Rasul Khan and recovered drugs from their car, while another car was stopped at Jamrud checkpost and accused persons identified as Naqib, Imran, Dilawar and Nazar Shah were arrested.

He said Pishtakhara police arrested Abdur Rashid and recovered drugs from his possession.

The police officer said legislation was needed with retrospective effect to increase punishment for synthetic/chemical/in-organic drugs like ice. He said ingredients for ice and ecstasy were presumably methamphetamine, ephedrine, arinac, penadol and plaster of Paris.

He said ecstasy was mainly smuggled in from Europe while ice was manufactured in tribal areas and in neighbouring countries.

He said they were expecting further progress after the investigations.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2018