Fact-check: Viral drug bust video involves impostor, not serving army officer

A video widely circulated on social media claims to show a Pakistan Army officer being caught smuggling drugs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The claim is false. The video is old and does not show a serving army officer.

Claim

On May 15, a user shared a one-minute video on X, formerly Twitter, claiming it showed a Pakistan Army major caught transporting drugs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the footage, police and security personnel can be seen searching a car and recovering large sacks and packages from the vehicle’s back seat and trunk. At the time of writing, the video had received more than 211,000 views, 9,800 likes and 3,800 reposts.

Similar claims have also been shared on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Fact

A reverse image search conducted by Geo Fact Check found that the video dates back to April 2023 and was widely reported by multiple media outlets at the time.

The incident occurred in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during an excise police crackdown on drug smuggling. Authorities arrested a man wearing a fake Pakistan Army uniform who was allegedly attempting to smuggle narcotics in his vehicle.

According to reports, officials recovered 60 kilograms of hashish worth millions of rupees from the car.

The individual shown in the video was not a serving Pakistan Army officer.

The incident was reported by Dawn and We News.

Verdict: The claim is false. The video is from 2023 and does not show a serving Pakistan Army officer being caught smuggling drugs. It shows a man impersonating an army officer who was arrested during an anti-drug operation in Nowshera.

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