TOBA TEK SINGH: Khurrianwala police claimed on Friday to have arrested a drug dealer who allegedly smuggled ice drug to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by luring five members of a family through a free Umrah package.

According to a police spokesperson, the suspect, Saddam Hussain, was arrested in a raid in Jaranwala, during which more than five kilogram hashish was also recovered from him.

He said the suspect had sent five persons, including women, of a family to the KSA on the pretext of performing free Umrah, allegedly hiding ice drug in their luggage.

He said the drug was recovered by Saudi authorities from the luggage of the pilgrims when they reached the KSA.

A Saudi court later handed down the five Pakistani nationals 25-year jail terms each.

The spokesman said Saddam ran an international network of drug smugglers also operating in the KSA.

He said the arrested suspect would also sell hashish and ice in different areas of Pakistan, as well.

MURDER SOLVED: Jhang police claimed to have solved the murder case of a six-year-old orphan boy, who had gone missing from Mouza Kudlathi village, and later remains of his body were found in a field three days ago.

According to the police, the deceased child’s uncle killed him to grab a piece of land.

Jhang DPO Bilal Iftikhar Kiani told a press conference on Friday that the orphan, Faraz (6) had gone missing on Dec 11, 2025 from the village in the limits of Satellite Town police and his body was found in sugarcane fields three days ago.

He said that initial investigation revealed that the deceased child was strangled to death by his paternal uncle Ghulam Mustafa, who wanted to grab the urban land inherited by Faraz after the death of his father.

He said the suspect had fled after killing the child, but was later arrested.

The police had earlier registered a kidnap case on the complaint of Fraz’s mother.

The DPO said that earlier, the police had taken into custody two nominated suspects, who turned out to be innocent during investigations.

The DPO appreciated the investigation teams formed under the supervision of investigation SP Rana Rehman Qadir, which solved the case.

He especially praised Satellite Town SHO Shahid Amir Ludhiana and his team, and awarded prizes and certificates to them.

The DPO assured the child’s mother that the police will ensure that the culprit gets punished as per the law.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2026