Amritsar, April 7: A Pakistani smuggler was shot dead while another apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) at the India-Pakistan border on Friday.The deceased has been identified as Rashid and the arrested Sabir Hussain. Both were residents of Thata Dhilwan village in Lahore.
Four packets of heroin weighing 1 kg each, one mobile phone with two Pakistan SIM cards were recovered from their possession.
Mukul Goel, IG, BSF, Punjab Frontier, said during the wee hours both were spotted near the Ramkot Border Outpost (BoP) in the Amritsar sector.
“The BSF personnel spotted the two around 2.20 am close to the International Border. Both were stealthily approaching towards the fence to throw packets towards this side. When they ignored the warning, the BSF squad opened fire, in which a Pakistani smuggler got killed and another arrested,” he added.
He hoped that with the arrest of a Pakistani smuggler they would be able to extract vital information which could help unmask the cross-border narcotic smugglers’ network. It is suspected that someone from adjoining Chak Allah Baksh village is involved in this activity.
The matter was brought to the notice of the Pakistani counterparts, but they denied any acquaintance.“The meeting at the company commander level was held between the two sides, but as usual they simply denied admitting that they were Pakistanis. It was during the preliminary investigation that Shabir Hussain revealed their antecedents. Shabir also admitted to be involved in drug smuggling earlier too,” he added.
Goel says as per sources there is rich cultivation of heroin in Afghanistan and this encourages smuggling activities across the border.Since January, the BSF has seized 104.7 kg of heroin, 17 Pakistani SIM cards and six Pakistani mobiles and arrested four Pak smugglers.
Source Tribune India
