Kapurthala: The Punjab police today busted an inter-state drug mafia with the arrest of three drug smugglers while also recovering 10 kg of poppy husk from them.   

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Sharma said the accused were arrested after their car was intercepted at a barricade at village Dhilwan on the Jalandhar-Amritsar national highway.   

During its search they recovered 10 kg poppy husk, he added. The accused have been identified as Javed Ahmed Bhatt of Awantipura in Kashmir, Tusrak Hussain of Pulwama in Kashmir and Sonu, a resident of Jalandhar.   

"The gang used to bring narcotics from Jammu and Kashmir and sell it in Punjab through conduits," he said.   

During preliminary interrogation, the police said, all the accused confessed that they had been in the business of drug smuggling for more than four years.   

Meanwhile, the police is also investigating their connection with militancy in Kashmir, he said.   A case has been registered by the police in the matter. PTI