CHITRAL: Police in Drosh have arrested a man after recovery of ice (crystal meth) from his possession.
A police spokesman said that during a routine patrolling, a police team led by SDPO Drosh Circle Iqbal Karim and SHO Police Station Drosh SI Bulbul Hassan, intercepted a suspect in suspicious circumstances.
The individual, identified as Sher Baz, son of Haji Khan, resident of Gahiret, was searched on the spot. During the search, 103 grams of crystal meth (ice) was recovered from his possession.
This seizure aligns with a growing trend of the availability of ice in the district.
In March 2024, ChitralToday reported that ice had begun infiltrating Chitral, noting 45 arrests in 2023 compared to just three in 2022, with seizures in 2024 totaling over half a kilogram (548 g) in the first quarter.
According to the same report, the amount of ice seized rose from 79 g in 2022 to 3.7 kg in 2023.
Local officials and health experts have repeatedly flagged ice as a new and highly addictive threat, potentially even more harmful than traditional methamphetamine (speed).
The shift from mainly hashish and opium to crystal meth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, points to potentially expanding trafficking routes and heightened abuse among youth.
Between 2022 and 2024, the cumulative seizure of ice in Chitral exceeded 4.3 kg, signaling a marked upward trend.
Social activists have been demanding law enforcement agencies to bust networks supplying drugs to Chitral from other areas to save the youth from the menace of drug abuse.