HYDERABAD: Police on Wednesday claimed to have seized 12kg crystal meth, commonly referred to as ‘ice’ worth Rs100 million in international market and arrested three suspected traffickers of the highly expensive substance.

Hyderabad SSP Dr Farrukh Ali told journalists that CIA DSP Iftikhar Buriro and Bhitai Nagar police station’s SHO Ghulam Asghar Tunio intercepted a car (AUS-940) near Al Falah filling station on bypass after receiving a tip-off that a big consignment of ‘ice’ was reaching Hyderabad from Balochistan.

During search of the vehicle, the officials recovered packets of 6kg crystal ice from secret chambers of the car, and arrested Khalil Ahmed Baloch, a resident of Turbat, who lived currently in Tando Adam, Sanghar district, said the SSP.

The suspect confessed that he was a major dealer of the drug and disclosed that another large consignment from Gwadar and Turbat via Karachi and Hyderabad would reach different districts of Sindh, he said.

He said that the DSP’s team raided a hotel after gleaning information from the suspect and arrested two of his associates, Zahid Baloch and Ms Rani Baloch, who were in possession of another 6kg ice.

The SSP said the seized drugs were worth Rs100m in international market.

Khalil Baloch was earlier arrested in connection with a case of Explosive Substance Act in Karachi in 2017 and was sentenced to 14 years, said the official.

DSP Buriro said that the woman actually hailed from Turbat but was temporarily residing in Kotri.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2025