TAXILA: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) recovered a huge quantity of narcotics from two crew members of the Rehman Baba Express during an operation at Taxila Railway Station on Tuesday, ANF and railway police sources said.

According to the sources, intelligence reports of drug smuggling by train were received, as a result of which trains were checked at all major junctions. The sources said that during the operation, the engine crew was searched, and a huge quantity of narcotics was recovered from the hidden portion of the locomotive.

The sources said that the accused, identified as Fazal Habib and Mujeeb Ali, were trying to smuggle drugs from Peshawar to Karachi.

A case has been registered against the accused under the Anti-Narcotics Act, while further investigation is under way.

Separately, the local police arrested six drug peddlers working for intercity drug-selling rackets and recovered narcotics from their possessions on Tuesday.

Talking to newsmen here on Tuesday, Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Taxila Circle ASP Kianat Azhar Khan said that local police busted a narcotics trafficking network and arrested their four members, in addition to recovering narcotics from their possession.

Moreover, a man was arrested for brutally torturing his elderly father over a monetary dispute in Syedan village in the limits of Hazro Police Station on Tuesday. According to SHO Hazro police station Sultan Qammar, the victim lodged an application alleging that his son Mohammad Asif mercilessly tortured him and also threatened with dire consequences for not giving him money.

He said that after a medical examination that confirmed the torture, the accused was booked and arrested under the Parents Protection Ordinance 2021.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2023