Jammu, Nov 22 (IANS) The police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district said on Saturday that it has seized the property of a drug peddler worth Ra 60 lakh in Poonch district.

A police statement said on Saturday: “In a decisive action against the narco-terror ecosystem, Police Station Surankote has seized a residential house belonging to a notorious drug peddler, Sajjad Hussain Shah son of Sarfraz Hussain Shah resident of Potha, Tehsil Surankote.

“The property, valued at approximately Rs 60 lakh, has been seized/freezed under the provisions of the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act – SAFEMA. The said individual is a habitual offender and has been involved in multiple NDPS cases in the district. “He is presently lodged in District Jail Udhampur under PIT-NDPS proceedings.”

The statement mentioned that the attachment of his illegally acquired property is a part of the sustained crackdown on drug peddlers operating in the region.

“District Police Poonch has been tirelessly acting against narcotics networks and has, in recent months, attached properties worth several crores of rupees belonging to drug peddlers and their associates. Additionally, multiple bank accounts with suspicious and disproportionate transactions have been frozen as part of financial investigations aimed at dismantling the support system of the drug trade,” it said.

The police statement also noted that “Poonch Police reaffirms its commitment to ensuring a drug-free society and urges the public to continue sharing information related to drug trafficking and related criminal activities”.

Jammu and Kashmir Police and the security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their over ground workers (OGWs), sympathisers, drug smugglers and those involved in Hawala money rackets and other unlawful activities.

It is believed that the funds generated by these unlawful activities are finally used to fund terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

The revised strategy is part of the coordinated efforts to dismantle the complete ecosystem of terror rather than focusing only on the elimination of gun wielding terrorists.

–IANS

sq/pgh