Leh Sep 12:- Leh Police registered 14 NDPS cases in the first eight months of 2026, arresting 24 people, while also cracking a major burglary involving gold, silver jewellery and precious stones, with suspects traced to Pattan in Baramulla, SSP Leh Piyush Fulzele said.
Addressing a press conference, Piyush Fulzele said the anti-narcotics crackdown has remained a key focus of Leh Police, with three alleged drug peddlers identified for preventive detention under the PITNDPS Act, 1988. He said one of the detainees is currently lodged in District Jail.
At the same time, police have intensified action against property crimes, recovering stolen jewellery and other valuables worth around ₹8 lakh in the latest burglary case reported on September 4.
The case came to light after Padma Yankchan, a resident of Ighu, approached police and reported that unidentified persons had broken into her house during the night by breaking through the floor and stolen gold and silver jewellery, including necklaces, gemstones and other ornaments.
Police registered a case under relevant provisions of the BNS and deployed technical as well as human intelligence to trace the suspects. The investigation eventually led officers to Pattan in Baramulla, following which a Leh Police team was sent to Kashmir and conducted raids in a remote area.
The accused were apprehended and subsequently brought to Leh on transit remand. Police recovered jewellery and other stolen property valued at approximately ₹8 lakh.
The investigation is now being expanded to determine whether the accused have links with previous burglary cases in Ladakh, including thefts reported from monasteries.
Fulzele said police are examining a suspected pattern in which some persons visiting Ladakh for small-scale business allegedly identify houses and monasteries that remain closed or have limited security and subsequently pass information to associates who return to carry out thefts.
