LAHORE: The Crime Control Department (CCD) of Punjab Police on Tuesday claimed that five suspected drug traffickers in police custody were killed during two separate encounters in Lahore after being hit by gunfire from their alleged accomplices.
According to police officials, four suspects were killed during an incident in Iqbal Town, while another suspect died in a similar incident in the Chuhng area. The police said the encounters took place when CCD teams were escorting the suspects for the recovery of narcotics.
A senior police official stated that a CCD team was taking four suspects — identified as Ashiq, Azeem, Khurram and Aslam — to a location in Iqbal Town when unidentified armed men attacked the police party in an attempt to free the detainees. The attackers allegedly opened indiscriminate fire, prompting the CCD officials to return fire in self-defence.
The CCD police registered a case against the armed attackers who had managed to flee from the spot.https://t.co/Dp4QEAGPgE
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 24, 2025
After the firing subsided, police said the four suspects were found dead, claiming they had been hit by bullets fired by their own accomplices. The bodies were shifted to a city morgue for post-mortem examinations. Police also registered a case against the unidentified assailants, who managed to flee the scene.
In a separate incident in the Chuhng area, police said a CCD team was escorting another suspected drug trafficker, identified as Javed, for narcotics recovery when armed men opened fire on the police. CCD officials returned the fire, resulting in a brief shoot-out. According to the police account, the suspect sustained fatal injuries from shots fired by his alleged accomplices and died on the spot. A case was registered against the fleeing attackers in this incident as well.
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Meanwhile, Punjab Police said that as part of an ongoing province-wide crackdown against narcotics, at least 30 drug dealers were arrested during the last 24 hours. Police claimed to have recovered 39 kilograms of charas, nine kilograms of heroin and one kilogram of ice from the suspects’ possession.
A police spokesperson said that over the past three months, a total of 1,444 drug dealers had been arrested across Punjab and 1,771 cases registered. During this period, police claimed to have seized 2,142kg of charas, 62kg of ice, 266kg of heroin and 25kg of opium. Thirteen suspects were reported to have been killed during encounters.
Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar directed police to further intensify operations against major drug dealers and smugglers. He instructed officers to take strict action against individuals involved in the narcotics supply chain, particularly those operating near educational institutions and hostels, to protect young people from drug abuse.
Police said investigations into the encounters and the identity of the attackers were ongoing.
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