Love, lies & narcotics: Police uncover plot to frame newlywed husband in Kashmir
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Love, lies & narcotics: Police uncover plot to frame newlywed husband in Kashmir")
The investigation led to the arrest of Tariq Ahmed Sofi, a resident of the Zainakote area of Srinagar. Photograph: (ANI)
During the investigation, police reportedly found that the man had married only a few months earlier and had no previous criminal record. During questioning, he allegedly told investigators that he had received calls and messages from a Saudi Arabia-based number concerning the parcel.
Srinagar: In a case that appears straight out of a Bollywood crime thriller, Jammu and Kashmir Police have uncovered a conspiracy in which a woman’s former lover allegedly plotted to implicate her newlywed husband in a narcotics case, officials said.
The incident came to light after police received information about a suspected narcotics consignment being delivered to a poultry farmer in the Safapora area of Ganderbal district in central Kashmir.
According to police, a team reached the location as the parcel was being delivered and seized the consignment. On opening the package, the officers recovered cocaine, charas and diclofenac tablets.
The poultry farmer was subsequently arrested under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and taken to the police station for questioning.
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During the investigation, police reportedly found that the man had married only a few months earlier and had no previous criminal record. During questioning, he allegedly told investigators that he had received calls and messages from a Saudi Arabia-based number concerning the parcel.
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He also reportedly informed police that the same number had previously warned him against marrying the woman, before the marriage took place.
Police subsequently questioned the farmer’s wife, whose statements and other investigative leads allegedly helped investigators trace the conspiracy.
According to a senior police official, the investigation led to the arrest of Tariq Ahmed Sofi, a resident of the Zainakote area of Srinagar. During questioning, Sofi allegedly confessed to plotting the operation and arranging for the narcotics consignment to be sent to the poultry farmer’s address.
Police suspect that Sofi had been in a relationship with the woman before her marriage and allegedly wanted to implicate her husband in a drug case.
Investigators have also identified a person named Areeb, reportedly from Uttar Pradesh, who is suspected of having helped transport and dispatch the parcel. Police believe the consignment was first sent from Srinagar to UP and subsequently forwarded to Ganderbal, addressed to the poultry farmer.
According to police, the farmer had been told that the parcel contained samples of poultry feed. He therefore accepted the package without knowing what it contained.
Police said they had received information about the narcotics delivery and reached the location around the time the parcel was handed over to the farmer.
Investigators believe the alleged plan was designed to make the farmer appear directly involved in a serious narcotics offence and expose him to potentially severe legal consequences under the NDPS Act.
Police are also examining the woman’s alleged continued contact with Sofi after her marriage. Officials said call records and other digital evidence proved significant in piecing together the suspected conspiracy.
The investigation remains underway, with police questioning other persons who may have been involved in transporting or arranging the consignment.
