ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 5: According to authorities, criminals are utilizing the well-known Google Maps program to transport narcotics throughout Pakistan by taking advantage of technology.
Dealers in the Khyber area have established a covert distribution network by exchanging GPS information and utilizing chat applications. They may send pharmaceuticals across the country using this technique, called the “Location Network,” in place of more conventional face-to-face transactions.
These traffickers place narcotics in predetermined sites around various cities and villages, eschewing the conventional hand-to-hand exchanges. They take pictures of these locations, post the pictures, and use WhatsApp to communicate with the district’s major merchants.
Buyers are therefore able to pick up the narcotics without having to deal with the dealers directly since they are given the information. Electronic bank transfers are used to finalize the payments for these transactions.
According to Owal Gul, a native of Khyber who was connected to the Location Network, he was given the responsibility of distributing drugs in Sialkot, Punjab, by powerful drug traffickers.
The narcotics operation was like a well-oiled machine, according to Gul. Major dealers, he claimed, operate extensive networks both inside and outside of Pakistan. These networks run on a regular basis with very little face-to-face interaction for security.
According to reports, the drug operation spans the Gulf States, Western countries, and the United Arab Emirates. Top Khyber drug traffickers have money transferred to them using covert bank accounts.
Due to the severe drug regulations in the Gulf States, drug traffickers are now obliged to transport narcotics using technology rather than by humans. In this manner, they may avoid hiring couriers.
The authorities are aggressively working to stop the narcotics network, despite its intelligence. DPO Abbas claimed that because these individuals are cautious, it has been challenging to apprehend them. Police, however, keep an eye on those who become wealthy overnight and search their phones for evidence.
Police have used this to apprehend a few narcotics traffickers.
The leaders of the Khyber police team fighting the Location Network are DSP Sawal Zar Khan, SHO Adnan Afridi, SHO Muhammad Haroon, and ASI Muhammad Baz.
A significant portion of the network has been shut down in the previous six months, with 65 charges filed and 120 arrests made. Some significant drug traffickers are said to have relocated their operations to Peshawar as a result.
