3 drug peddlers arrested with heroin, cash in Kishtwar

Ramban, Oct 21: Kishtwar Police have arrested three alleged drug peddlers in two separate operations, recovering over 14 grams of heroin-like substance and Rs 24,800 in suspected drug money, officials said.

According to police sources, law enforcement teams were strategically deployed across sensitive locations in Kishtwar town as part of an intensified patrolling strategy.

During one such patrol near Chowgan Ground, a team from Police Station Kishtwar, led by SI Lal Hussain, apprehended two well-known drug peddlers—Mohd Iqbal Khanday and Mohd Yaseen Khanday, both sons of Mohd Iqbal Khanday, originally residents of Keshwan, currently residing at Shaktinagar, Kishtwar. A personal search led to the recovery of 8 grams of heroin.

In a separate operation conducted in the early hours of Tuesday, a team from Police Post Shalimar, led by PSI Sofi Ashraf, while patrolling in the Malipeth area, apprehended another notorious peddler—Ajaz Ahmed Khanday, son of Khushi Mohd Khanday, resident of Thakrie, presently living in Girinagar, Kishtwar. The police recovered 5.5 grams of heroin from his possession.

In connection with these seizures, FIR Nos. 215/2025 and 217/2025 have been registered under relevant sections of the NDPS Act at Police Station Kishtwar.

Police officials confirmed that further investigation was underway to expose and dismantle the wider drug network operating in the region.