Srinagar, October 4: An Army personnel was arrested at the drop gate of Srinagar International Airport after police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel recovered suspected banned substances from his baggage, officials said on Sunday.
The personnel was apprehended on Saturday, October 3, during checking at the airport’s drop gate. Officials said the recovery comprised 213 grams of poppy straw and 69 grams of a cannabis-like substance. The seized material was taken into possession by the security personnel.
A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of law, and an investigation has been initiated, officials added. Further details, including the identity, rank and unit of the personnel, the police station concerned, and the precise sections invoked, were not disclosed in the initial official account.
The incident was reported by the Press Trust of India and carried by multiple outlets, including News18, Outlook India, Kashmir Reader and Kashmir Life. Reports consistently placed the apprehension at the airport drop gate and cited the same quantities of the two substances. No official statement from the Army had been issued at the time of the agency reports.
Poppy straw and cannabis are controlled substances under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Possession above the small-quantity thresholds prescribed under the Act can attract prosecution, subject to laboratory confirmation and the findings of the investigation. Officials have described the second recovery as a cannabis-like substance, indicating that chemical examination is expected to form part of the inquiry.
Airport security in Srinagar is jointly managed by police, the CRPF and other agencies under the civil aviation security framework. The drop gate is the outer checking point used for vehicles and persons entering the terminal area. The agency reports did not state whether the personnel was arriving, departing, or in transit, nor did they indicate the source of the recovered material.
The investigation is expected to examine the origin of the substances, the circumstances of their carriage, and whether any further persons are involved. Until the probe is completed and the recovered material is forensically confirmed, the case remains at the stage of registration and inquiry on the basis of the recovery reported by officials.
