SWABI, Feb 18: Tehsil Chota Lahor police on Thursday seized a huge quantity of charas and opium from a truck and arrested an accused while two escaped from the spot.

District Police Officer Mohammad Ijaz Khan told media men that the contraband was being smuggled to the Punjab province and other parts of the country.

He said the Chota Lahor police, patrolling the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, signalled a Shahzor truck (C-NSR 4066) coming from the Peshawar side, but the driver didn't stop and tried to speed away. However, the police gave a chase.

The driver, identified as Bakht Shahid, seeing the police coming behind, abandoned the vehicle on the Motorway and attempted to flee along with his two accomplices. But, he was caught after being hit by a shot fired by the police, but his two aides succeeded to disappear in the nearby fields.

The police searched the truck and recovered about 400 kilograms of charas and 27 kilograms of opium. The Charas was sealed in sacks put under plastic pipes and each bag had markings indicating where it was to be delivered. The truck was impounded and taken to Chota Lahor police station.

“Shahid belongs to Bam Khel region of the district and his two fleeing accomplices would also be traced,” said another police official. “We cannot disclose the names of other two smugglers at the moment,” the official said.