Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 12

Police attached a residential property valued at more than Rs 12 million as part of an investigation into alleged narcotics trafficking, marking the latest use of financial measures aimed at dismantling drug networks by targeting assets suspected to have been acquired through the illicit trade.

The property, a two-storey house built on eight marlas of land in Srinagar’s Lal Bazar area, was attached under provisions of India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act following an investigation into a drug-related case, police said on Saturday.

Authorities identified the owner as Zamin Makhdoomi, a resident of Sikh Bagh in Lal Bazar.

Police said the attachment stemmed from an investigation into a case registered earlier this year under sections of the NDPS Act dealing with possession, trafficking and criminal conspiracy involving narcotic substances.

Investigators concluded that the property was liable for attachment under Section 68F of the NDPS Act, which empowers authorities to freeze or seize assets believed to have been derived from or connected to narcotics-related offences, subject to prescribed legal procedures.

The attachment was carried out in the presence of an Executive Magistrate and completed in accordance with legal requirements, police said, adding that the proceedings remained peaceful.

Authorities did not disclose the nature or quantity of narcotics allegedly involved in the underlying investigation, which remains ongoing.

The action reflects a broader strategy increasingly adopted by law enforcement agencies in Jammu and Kashmir to weaken organised drug trafficking networks by pursuing not only criminal prosecutions but also the confiscation of properties and financial assets suspected to have been generated through the illegal narcotics trade.

Officials say depriving traffickers of economic gains is intended to reduce the financial incentives that sustain organised drug distribution networks.

Police said investigations into narcotics offences would continue alongside efforts to identify and attach properties allegedly acquired through proceeds of drug trafficking.

“The objective is not only to prosecute offenders but also to dismantle the financial infrastructure supporting the narcotics trade,” the police said in a statement.

Drug abuse has emerged as a growing public concern in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years, prompting authorities to intensify enforcement through coordinated operations involving the police, anti-narcotics agencies and civil administration.

Alongside arrests and seizures of narcotic substances, law enforcement agencies have increasingly relied on provisions of the NDPS Act that allow the attachment of movable and immovable assets believed to be linked to drug trafficking.

Officials say the approach is designed to disrupt criminal networks by targeting their financial resources in addition to pursuing conventional criminal investigations.

Police appealed to the public to continue sharing information about suspected drug trafficking and other criminal activities, assuring residents that the identities of informants would be kept confidential.

Authorities said community cooperation remained an important component of efforts to curb the spread of narcotics and dismantle organised drug distribution networks across the region.