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Tag: drugs

  • Karachi man requests court to legalise hashish in public interest

    Karachi man requests court to legalise hashish in public interest

    A man has approached the Sindh High Court, asking it to decriminalise carrying and smoking small quantities of hashish in the public interest.

    The petitioner had requested the court that people be allowed to carry 10 grammes of hashish (chars) on their person. “What kind of a petition have you brought? Do you want everyone to start smoking chars?” responded Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, visibly perturbed by the plea.

    At this, petitioner Ghulam Asghar Saeein informed the bench that several countries in the world have decriminalised hash.

    “If you want to smoke hash then go to those countries, it is not allowed here,” responded Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, as he dismissed the petition.

    “It will increase the country’s income and revenue,” said the petitioner at the judge’s questioning. “We do not want such money, as there are legitimate ways to increase income,” responded the judge.

    Many Pakistanis are surprisingly open to using cannabis, with the spongy, black hash made from marijuana grown in the country’s tribal belt and neighbouring Afghanistan the preferred variant of the drug, said AFP news agency in a feature on the use of hashish in Pakistan in 2017.

    Whereas alcohol is explicitly forbidden in Islamic scripture, hash seemingly straddles a theological gray zone, which could explain its popularity in the country.

    Even if most observant Muslims in Pakistan scoff at the idea of drinking, a prod into their feelings on marijuana often triggers a wry smile followed by a trite maxim about how good it makes food taste or how restful sleep can be after a toke.

    People have been smoking hash on the subcontinent for centuries.
    It predates the arrival of Islam in the region, with reference to cannabis appearing in the sacred Hindu Atharva Veda text describing its medicinal and ritual uses.

    According to a 2013 UN survey, cannabis was the most widely consumed drug in Pakistan with around four million users, representing 3.6 per cent of the population – a figure that has drawn scepticism in a country where reliable data can be hard to come by.

  • EU arrests 746 organised criminals: murderers, assassins, money launders, hitman

    EU arrests 746 organised criminals: murderers, assassins, money launders, hitman

    European Union (EU) police agency, Europol, has arrested at least 746 criminals after decrypting a phone network of 60,000 organised criminals, including murderers, cartels, hitmen, assassins and money launders.

    French police first hacked the network of EncroChat by deploying a “technical device” to penetrate so that they could read millions of messages “over the shoulders” of suspects as they communicated with custom-made devices.

    “This is an unprecedented look into the heart of organised crime groups that led us to foil violent attacks, corruption, attempted murders and large-scale drug transports,” said Wil Van Gemert, deputy director of Europol, during a press conference in The Hague.

    According to Van Den Berg, chief constable of the Dutch police’s central unit, some of the encrypted messages were so worrying that it went “far beyond the authorities’ imagination”.

    In 2017, French authorities launched an investigation after finding that EncroChat phones were regularly found in operations of criminal groups and the company was operating from servers in France.

    EncroChat sells customised Android handsets with GPS, camera and microphone functionalities removed. These devices are loaded with encrypted messaging apps as well as a secured secondary operating system, in addition to Android.

    The phones also come with a self-destruct feature that wipes the devices after a PIN code is entered.

    EncroChat had in June sent a message to its estimated 60,000 users to throw away their 1,000 euro devices as its servers had been “seized illegally by government entities”. The company has also been shut down.

    EncroChat had customers in 140 countries globally. More than 90 per cent of EncroChat clients were linked to organised crime as between 50,000 to 60,000 of the phones were being used by hardened criminals.

    The Dutch police have busted 19 crystal meth labs, seized 10 tonnes of cocaine and thousands of kilos of crystal meth, said Andy Kraagm, head of Dutch police’s central investigation division at the press conference.

    After this massive operation, some users are throwing away their phones; some have gone offline completely while others are attempting to flee their countries.

  • Man arrested for smuggling drugs in wedding outfits

    Police arrested a gang that was smuggling drugs to the United Kingdom in lehengas. The suspect identified as Najam Rafique was arrested in Dadyal. Najam was caught in possession of many packs of heroin hidden inside wedding outfits.

    As per reports, Najam is a part of an international drug network that is smuggling drugs to the UK. A heroin smuggler who goes by Mushtaq Nawabi is an important member of this international drug gang. Mushtaq is currently hiding in Dubai.

    Police officer Faisal Siddique (SHO) said that the arrest was made after getting hints that Nawabi has been transporting drugs concealed in lehengas to the UK.

    Najam was traveling on a motorcycle when he was stopped and arrested. The five lehengas in his possession were laced with 1.5 kg of heroin. After his arrest, he revealed that “In total ten lehengas were to be sent to the UK with the drugs inside them.”

    Najam’s arrest was just one in a series of raids to bust this international drug network. While this gang is run by Mushtaq Nawabi, the mastermind is his son-in-law Hafiz Mansoor Sultani from Kotli. Hafiz Mansoor is also living and hiding in Dubai.

    During a police press conference, DSP Nadeem Arif and Faisal Siddique asserted that the gang target poor people to work for them. Najam Rafique has received Rs 5 lakhs (£2,500) commission for 10 lehengas.
    Sometimes people are offered transport ‘gifts‘ in exchange for money. Sometimes people don’t even realize they’re being used.

  • Jhelum dentist accused of selling drugs to students

    Jhelum dentist accused of selling drugs to students

    A man, reportedly a dentist, allegedly sold ice (methamphetamine) to students at a government school in Jhelum.

    According to the Jhelum DPO, “We seized the drugs from the bags of two students of grade six. When we questioned the students, they told that they had gotten the drugs from a dentist.”

    The DPO added that an investigation was instantly conducted into the matter after which the dental clinic was raided. While the doctor managed to escape, an employee working at the clinic was arrested and taken into custody.

    As per reports, three packets of ice have been seized from the clinic.

    A case has been registered and further investigations are underway.

  • Shut courts if oaths are to decide cases: ANF DG

    Shut courts if oaths are to decide cases: ANF DG

    Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Director General (DG) Major General Muhammad Arif Malik has said that courts should be closed if cases “are to be decided through taking oath”, The News reported.

    The ANF chief’s statement came as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah, who was granted bail in the drugs trafficking case against him, continues to swear over the Quran that he is innocent and the case is bogus.

    The ANF has challenged the bail of the former Punjab law minister Sanaullah before the Supreme Court, filing a petition against the verdict of the Lahore High Court (LHC). It has argued that there was sufficient evidence against Sanaullah for being involved in the drugs case.

    The ANF alleged the PML-N leader was carrying around 15 kilograms of heroin with him when he was arrested from Sukheki in July last year. The force asked the court to set aside the verdict of the LHC wherein he was allowed bail.

    Later, talking to the reporters, the ANF DG asked if any murderer ever admitted in court or in public that he/she killed a person. He said Rana Sanaullah’s case was being heard by the court and he should provide evidence of his innocence there.

    Major General Arif Malik said Rana Sanaullah and Minister of State for Narcotics Control Shaharyar Afridi both took oath and therefore, a draw should be held to figure out who is the culprit.

    Responding to a journalist who asked the ANF DG that if he could swear about the veracity of the case, he said courts should be closed if things were to be settled that way.

  • HEC wants random drug testing to be conducted at educational institutes

    HEC wants random drug testing to be conducted at educational institutes

    The Higher Education Commission has demanded the federal government to form a policy and provide funds to curb the use of drugs in educational institutes. University students are likely to get tested for drugs on campus.

    As per reports, during a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology , it was revealed that more than 76 million Pakistanis are addicted to drugs with most of them being university students.

    “University students are increasingly getting attracted towards ice (methamphetamine) and other harmful drugs. The government should devise a policy to stop this,” said committee chairman Mushtaq Ghani.

    The HEC informed the committee about the issuance of guidelines for random drug screenings that will make campuses drug and smoke-free.

    “A policy would be needed to start random drug screening for which more human resource as well as testing labs will be required. With our current resources we can’t conduct drug screening tests at all universities,” said an HEC official.

    The committee has, therefore, advised the government to issue Rs21 billion for the HEC.

    Conducting random drug tests, using peer pressure, signing contracts with NGOs and reaching out to the root of drug trafficking will pull drugs out from their roots, the HEC assured the standing committee.

    It was also decided that the Anti-Narcotics Force will be called in the meeting to discuss their opinion on the matter.

  • VIDEO: ‘Mein ne jaan Allah ko deni hai’ haunts Afridi at National Assembly

    VIDEO: ‘Mein ne jaan Allah ko deni hai’ haunts Afridi at National Assembly

    The first session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was particularly harsh for Minister of State for Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi as members of opposition parties trolled him for his statements regarding the case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah Khan, amid the government’s failure to present any “substantial evidence” before the court.

    According to media reports, opposition members repeatedly called Afridi a “liar” and mocked his oft repeated sentence “Mein ne jaan Allah ko deni hai” when the minister got up from his seat to respond to a query regarding the development work being undertaken in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

    PML-N MNA Shahnawaz Ranjha said that Afridi was his friend but “inhon ne jaan Allah ko deni hai”.

    The opposition’s criticism angered Afridi who responded by saying that some people would give their soul to Allah like Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS), while some people would face God’s wrath like “Shimar and Firon”.

    He said that he would prove all allegations against him wrong if he was granted some time.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Interestingly, no person from the government benches — neither the PTI nor any of its coalition partners — came to Afridi’s defence as the opposition poked fun at the minister.

    Later, while speaking on the development in erstwhile FATA, Afridi informed the House that the budget for the merged tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had been enhanced from Rs58 billion to Rs162bn.

    Afridi said that Rs62bn had been allocated to the KP government for the “recurrent and development budget” for erstwhile FATA.

    He said that Rs48bn had further been earmarked by the federal government according to its share of the National Finance Commission Award and released to KP, adding that the federal government had also released Rs10bn for the previous financial year 2018-19 to the KP government.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Shehryar Afridi reveals how he felt when Rana Sanaullah was arrested

    Minister of State for Safron & Narcotics Control Shehryar Afridi in an exclusive interview with The Current in August shared how he felt when PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah was arrested for possessing drugs.

    “The most important for me are families who suffer because of this [drugs] menace,” said Afridi. “Positions and stature do not count. No one is above the law.”

    “No matter what position one is on, if found involved in such activities, they’ll be made an example [out of],” he asserted.

    When asked the one thing he liked about Rana Sanaullah, the minister responded, “I think his commitement to his party, which one should have.”

    Watch the complete interview and the place where Rana Sanaullah was first kept when arrested in this video:

    On July 1, Rana Sanaullah was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) after the discovery of a large stash of drugs in his vehicle from near the Sukheke area in Punjab. The former law minister was arrested while travelling with his guards to a meeting from Faisalabad to Lahore.

    The case against him was filed in accordance with the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997.

    He was granted bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday due to lack of evidence. The LHC directed Sanaullah to submit two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each to secure his bail.

  • VIDEO: ‘Charas expo in KP’ leaves internet stunned

    VIDEO: ‘Charas expo in KP’ leaves internet stunned

    A charas [hashish form of cannabis] expo has allegedly been held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a video of which has gone viral over the internet.

    The video is widely being shared on Facebook and Twitter with the claim that “Charas Expo 2019” was held in Terah Valley of the province that is rather infamous for high cannabis consumption as well as production.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    It shows locals showcasing different kinds of charas as a crowd wanders around buying the drug.

  • Drugs awarded to Peshawar cops for good performance

    Drugs awarded to Peshawar cops for good performance

    The higher police officials in Peshawar have been alleged to have distributed drugs among the police constables as a gift for good performance.

    According to a recent newspaper clipping, the Peshawar police constables performed quite well over the past 6 months and managed to recover heavy amount of drugs from various places.

    So, in order to appreciate the raid team involved in recovering those drugs, the higher police officials distributed around “1-kilo drugs” (packets) to each of the raid team constables.

    However, CCPO (Capital City Police Officer) Karim Khan has directed SSP Coordination Sarfaraz Ali Shah to perform an inquiry on the matter and ordered a severe punishment for all those involved.

    Speaking on the matter SSP said, “we have visited all the areas specified in the news and have tried to gather evidence from people and police constables”, adding that we have not found any solid proof as of yet and the news seems fake.

    While talking on the morning show “Geo Pakistan” SSP Shah has requested the newspaper which published the story to provide any evidence (if they have any) on the matter and has asked them to help the authorities.

    “In case we found the news story to be fake or propaganda against the police, we will take strict action against the newspaper involved”, Shah added.