NCB recaptures escaped drug accused Aqib Bashir in Jalandhar

Jammu,  KNT: The Narcotics Control Bureau has re-arrested drug trafficking accused Aqib Bashir, who had escaped from the agency’s custody in Jammu three days ago, officials said on Thursday.

Bashir, a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama district, was arrested in Jalandhar, Punjab, during a coordinated operation involving the NCB, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Punjab Police, an NCB spokesperson said.

Bashir had escaped from NCB custody in the Narwal area of Jammu during the intervening night of September 6 and 7, triggering a multi-agency search operation across the region.

He had earlier been arrested by the NCB on September 3 after the agency intercepted a Jammu-bound passenger bus at the New Bus Stand in Samba and recovered 522 grams of heroin.

During the subsequent investigation, the NCB traced the backward linkage of the consignment to Punjab, where another 197 grams of heroin was recovered in a follow-up operation, taking the linked seizure to 719 grams.

The arrest was part of a month-long NCB operation that identified two suspected routes used for bringing heroin into Jammu and Kashmir—one directly from Pakistan through the Uri sector and another through Punjab.

The NCB had earlier launched an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Bashir’s escape from its custody at Narwal.

Further investigation into the narcotics network and the circumstances of his escape is underway, officials said. [KNT]