J&K police foil govt staffer bid to trap ex-lover’s hubby in drug case

SRINAGAR: J&K police on Monday claimed to have busted a plot by a 51-year-old govt employee to get his former lover’s newlywed husband arrested in a narcotics case. The accused allegedly couriered illegal drugs to the husband in an attempt to resume his affair with the 27-year-old woman.Police have arrested the accused, Tariq Ahmad Sofi, employed with wildlife department in Ganderbal.The case came to light after police in Ganderbal district received information about a suspected drug consignment being sent through a courier service. Police intercepted the parcel shipped from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur and deployed a sniffer dog to examine it.“It contained around 4 kg of a powder-like substance which, on FSL examination, tested positive for cocaine, having huge value in the international market,” police said.Four packets, each containing 80 grams of what police described as “pure charas”, and strips of suspected psychotropic tablets were seized.The consignment was addressed to the woman’s husband, a poultry farm owner, who told police he was expecting poultry feed from a person who had contacted him through WhatsApp. He denied any knowledge of the drugs.Police then examined the husband’s background, as well as the phone records of the newlyweds, who married just a month ago. Investigators said the woman’s phone records provided the first major clue, leading them to Sofi, who had arranged the consignment through a friend identified as Areeb.Police are investigating whether the woman was part of the plot.Investigators are also scanning Areeb’s movements and possible links to Saudi Arabia after his phone records showed he called the poultry farm owner from that country. Police are also trying to establish how the drugs were procured and dispatched to Ganderbal through the courier.“We are also investigating whether the drugs were originally procured in the Valley and then dispatched to Kanpur, just to be couriered back to the poultry farm owner,” police said.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.