SRINAGAR: The Jammu unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has re-arrested a drug peddler in Punjab, three days after he escaped from the agency’s custody in Jammu, media reports said on Thursday.
Aqib Bashir, a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama district, was re-arrested in Jalandhar during a joint operation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Jammu and Kashmir Police and Punjab Police, India TV Hindi reported.
Bashir had escaped from NCB custody at its headquarters in the Narwal area of Jammu on the intervening night of September 6 and 7, triggering a security alert and a multi-agency search operation.
The accused was initially arrested by the NCB on September 3 after officials intercepted him on a passenger bus in Samba district. The agency recovered 522 grams of heroin from his possession, while a subsequent operation in Ludhiana led to the seizure of another 197 grams, taking the total recovery to 719 grams of heroin.
Following his escape, Bashir reportedly moved through a forested area before travelling via Pathankot to Jalandhar. During the effort to evade the authorities, he shaved his beard, moustache and head and changed his clothes in an attempt to alter his appearance.
The coordinated operation by the three agencies subsequently led to his location being traced in Jalandhar, following which he was taken back into custody on September 10.
