PESHAWAR: In a bid to make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a province free from all kinds of drugs and social evils, the provincial Secretary and Director General Excise took emergency measures and destroyed the poppy crop cultivated in some difficult mountainous areas of Swabi in the light of the special directives of the provincial government and the KP Chief Secretary.

In this regard, a joint operation of Excise Department and District Police was launched in Swabi under the supervision of Director Narcotics Control Excise Dr Eid Badshah and Excise Taxation Officer Narcotics Control Zahid Iqbal Khan. It destroyed the standing poppy (opium) crop spreading on about 150 kanals of land in different patches of the mountain beds.

Circle Officer Mardan Region Syed Naveed Jamal, SHO Police Station Excise Mardan Region Muhammad Riaz, Police Station Excise Peshawar Region, Excise Intelligence Bureau, DSP of District Police Roshan Zeib Khan, SHO Police Station Industrial Estate Swabi Liaqat Shah Khan participated in the operation.

Similarly, other Excise and District Police personnel also took part in this successful operation and destroyed the poppy crop cultivated in the most difficult hilly valleys. The operation was carried out in Mangalchai, Darorai and Chennai hills of Gadoon areas.

Excise Police Station Mardan, Excise Police Station Peshawar, Excise Intelligence Bureau and Swabi Police Stations jointly participated in this tough operation that was launched and successfully completed in the mountain beds and slopes of Gadoon Amazai areas.

Meanwhile during the operation in these difficult hilly areas, a specific mafia gang came into action that waged a protest against destroying the opium cultivation in a wide area and resultantly blocked the local road.

However, after having a bitter conversation with the Swabi Police and Excise staff, the local elite immediately intervened who reached on the spot and paved way for a truce, after which the road was opened for traffic promptly.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023