Delhi: Afghan drug smuggler caught after 17-month chase

NEW DELHI: On September 30, there was panic among a group of policemen at AIIMS after a high-value suspect went missing from the ward. 51-year-old Ahmed Jawid, an Afghan-origin narcotics smuggler, was lodged in Tihar Jail after being arrested with heroin worth Rs 16 crore in 2014.

On the night of September 29, he claimed to be suffering from chest pain and backache and requested medical attention.He was given some medicines and then taken to hospital in the morning. Some of the undertrials accompanying Jawid requested for a stretcher and started to scream. In the confusion, Jawid disappeared into the crowd.
Two policemen escorting him were suspended and an FIR was lodged. A reward of Rs 1 lakh was announced for any information on the suspect. Delhi Police’s Special Cell, which had arrested Jawid in 2014, launched a manhunt for the accused.
Jawid was an associate of an international arms dealer named Ghafoor, who also dabbled in cross-border narcotics smuggling. As per Indian intel, Ghafoor owned a weapon manufacturing unit in Pakistan’s Jalalabad. Jawid had been bringing heroin to India on Ghafoor’s instructions via the Kabul-Delhi flight route.
Finally, a Special Cell team led by ACPs Lalit Mohan Negi and Hriday Bhushan has managed to nab him again after a manhunt lasting seventeen months.
The arrest happened after Special Cell developed three stray intelligence inputs. DCP (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwaha said that they had received a tip-off about an Afghan suspect trying to procure a passport with fake identity documents. “Another input suggested that an Afghan suspect wears a cap and a wig and frequents areas like Lajpat Nagar, Hauz Rani and Saket,” Kushwaha added.
The third input was about an Afghan origin man trying to cross over through India-Bangladesh border. After a tip-off, a trap was laid and Jawid walked into it.
Jawid was a master of disguise. When the team started to look for him, they had his photograph. However, when they caught him, Jawid, who was bald, had taken the guise of a tourist. He wore a wig, had a French beard and a different get-up.