The trio were charged after meth and cocaine were seized as part of a joint-police investigation that began last fall.
PESHAWAR – In a major counter-narcotics breakthrough, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department has foiled a large-scale smuggling attempt in Mardan, seizing 300 kilograms of high-grade hashish concealed inside a Mazda container. Officials estimated the value of the recovered narcotics in the crores.
The operation, conducted under the provincial government’s zero-tolerance policy on drugs, was carried out by the Excise Intelligence Bureau (EIB) on the directives of Provincial Minister for Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Syed Fakhar Jehan.
Provincial In-charge EIB Saud Khan Gandapur and Excise and Taxation Officer (Counter-Narcotics Operations) Majid Khan led the raid. Acting on a tip-off, the team—comprising Inspectors Zarjan Khan and Ajmal Lodhi and other field personnel—intercepted a suspicious Mazda Titan on Ring Road, Mardan. A detailed search revealed several expertly concealed compartments inside the mounted container, from which the narcotics were recovered.
According to departmental officials, the consignment was intended for inter-provincial smuggling. A case has been registered against the accused, and the investigation has been transferred to the Excise Police Station, Mardan Region.
The department reiterated its determination to continue province-wide action against drug dealers, traffickers and their facilitators “without discrimination.”
