4 drug smugglers killed in firefight with anti-narcotics force in Pakistan's Punjab

ISLAMABAD, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Four suspected drug smugglers were killed in an exchange of fire with the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in Gujranwala district of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, local police said on Tuesday.

According to police, the ANF team had been chasing the suspects from the Sheikhupura district of the province before they entered Gujranwala's jurisdiction.

The smugglers, who were traveling in a vehicle, opened fire on the pursuing team in the Kotli Gul Muhammad area of Gujranwala.

"In the retaliation by the ANF personnel, all four drug peddlers were killed on the spot," police said, adding that a passerby also lost his life, while a woman sustained injuries during the exchange of fire.

Authorities confirmed that the slain suspects were residents of the country's northwest Khyber district in northwestern Pakistan and were involved in interprovincial drug trafficking.

A large cache of narcotics and weapons was recovered from the scene, police added. Enditem