Unknown gunmen allegedly killed a narcotic smuggler in Jammu Kashmir’s Kupwara district, police said on Tuesday.

They said during the intervening night of August 28/29, at about 2200 hours some sound of gunshots were heard in Haridal area of Police Post Teetwal Karnah.

Upon hearing the gunshots, a swift search operation was launched by the local Police and Army unit in the area that led to the discovery of the lifeless body of Mukhtar Ahmad Shah, (42) of Panjtaran Karnah.

The deceased’s body was found in the village of Pingla Haridal.

Police shifted the body to Sub District Hospital (SDH) Tangdhar for necessary medico-legal procedures.

Subsequent to the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the family for final rites.

A case has been registered under appropriate sections, and a thorough investigation has been initiated.

Police said preliminary investigations suggest that the deceased had been killed by some rival narcotics smuggling gang members or rival terror operatives.

“Notably, Mukhtar Ahmad Shah was a high-profile narcotics smuggler and a person of deep connections among narcotics smugglers in the region”, police said and added “he had been found involved in two cases of narcotics and weapons smuggling in the recent past and had confessed to orchestrating the transportation of substantial quantities of narcotics and weaponry across the border”.

His association with his brother, Sadiq Shah, a prominent figure as both a launching commander and a supplier of narcotics and weapons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), underscores the depth of his involvement in these illicit activities.

Sadiq Shah is himself chargesheeted in narco-terror cases and happens to be a top terrorist commander based in POJK, police further said.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the Shah family has been entangled in various legal cases relating to narcotics and weapons smuggling. At least six other members of the Mukhtar Ahmad Shah’s family are currently facing charges in connection to these criminal activities, they added.

(With UNI inputs)