A suspected drug peddler escaped from the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Jammu on the night between Sunday and Monday, triggering a manhunt across the region. The escape was reported by officials on Monday, September 7, and prompted an alert that led to intensified search and checking operations throughout the area.
Aqib Bashir, a resident of Kakaporea in Pulwama district, was arrested by the NCB on September 3 after authorities seized 522 grams of heroin from a passenger bus in Samba district. According to officials, Bashir managed to escape from NCB custody at Narwal during the intervening night, raising questions about the circumstances that allowed the escape.
In response, police and other security agencies stepped up frisking and vehicle checks at key entry and exit points. Search teams were deployed to various locations, and investigators are still determining how Bashir evaded custody.
Bashir’s arrest was part of a month‑long NCB operation in the Jammu division that uncovered two distinct routes used by narcotic smugglers to bring heroin into Jammu and Kashmir. The operation identified direct smuggling from Pakistan through the Uri sector and indirect routes via Punjab. Over the past month, the NCB seized a cumulative 6.920 kilograms of heroin in four interceptions and a linked recovery in Punjab, and arrested six accused persons.
