TAXILA: Attock police on Saturday foiled a bid to smuggle a huge cache of narcotics from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab worth millions of rupees and arrested two drug smugglers stated to be members of an inter-provincial narcotics smuggling racket.

A police spokesman said that acting on a tip-off, a police party intercepted a passenger van on the GT Road near Attock Khurd. During a search, the police recovered 7kg of hashish and 1.1kg of ice concealed in hidden compartments of the vehicle.

Police arrested the smugglers, said to be natives of Nowshera. The spokesman said that during preliminary interrogation, one of the accused confessed to being a member of an inter-provincial narcotics smuggling racket and said they were attempting to supply the drugs to different cities under the guise of scrap dealers.

Police registered a case under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997 and launched further investigations.

Meanwhile, during a crackdown against absconders and proclaimed offenders, Attock police also arrested four fugitives wanted in different criminal cases, officials said on Saturday.

According to police sources, a team from Injra Police Station conducted a raid and arrested two proclaimed offenders who were wanted by police in a case registered at the station.

The suspects had been evading arrest for a considerable period before being traced and apprehended during a targeted operation.

In another operation, a team from Attock City Police Station arrested a proclaimed offender who was wanted by police in a fraud-related case. The suspect, a resident of Malhowali in Tehsil Pindigheb, had been declared a proclaimed offender by the court after repeatedly failing to appear in legal proceedings.

Meanwhile, Hassanabdal Police also arrested a proclaimed offender wanted in a separate criminal case. The accused had been absconding from law enforcement authorities.

Police officials said investigations had been initiated following the arrests and further legal proceedings were underway.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2026