QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Balochistan organised “Drug Burning Ceremony” at Kuchh Morr, Quetta. Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sana Ullah Zahri graced the occasion as chief guest.
ANF Force Commander Brig Bilal Javed welcomed the chief guest and other distinguished guests, which included FC IG Major General Sher Afghan, provincial Rehmat Saleh, Quetta Station Commander Brig Rafique and Quetta Commissioner Amjad Ali, whereas other guests included officials of LEAs, civil society, students, national heroes, educational institutions and media persons.
ANF Force Commander Brig Bilal Javed, while addressing the occasion, informed that ANF Balochistan registered 73 drug cases, apprehended 41 persons and seized 252 tonnes of Narcotics this year.
The drug burning also included the 58 tonnes of drugs seized by FC Balochistan this year, while the total value of the burnt drugs is approximately $3.2 billion in international market.
While giving out ANF performance, he told that actions of ANF Balochistan were not just restricted to the seizures only rather ANF Balochistan vigorously working on bringing the outlaws to justice, as successful prosecutions rate of ANF Balochistan stood at 90 percent this year.
The ceremony ended with burning of 310 tonnes of narcotics. The burnt drugs comprised of 11.79 tonnes of heroin, 147.18 tonnes of hashish, 46.57 tonnes of opium, 4.97 tonnes of morphine, 14.29 tonnes of bhang, 3.64 tonnes of amphetamine, 1.97 tonnes of poppy buds, 296 kilogrammes of crystal, 16 tonnes of precursor chemicals and 600 litres of liquor.
On the occasion, it was informed that ANF Balochistan was also engaged in drug demand reduction activities to create awareness among general public about hazards of drugs and addiction.
This year, drug demand activities of ANF Balochistan included lectures in educational institutions, free medical camps, sports events, workshops, poster competitions, musical shows, walks and distribution of awareness leaflets etc.
It is pertinent to mention here that ANF, in context to CPEC, is undertaking special measures for capacity building at coastal areas, particularly in Gwadar. In this respect, upgraded deployment at Gwadar has already taken place, which will further be augmented in aspects of intelligence ability, technical capability, mobility and cargo-filtration capacity.
