Foreign-based drug cartel busted in Punjab; three held, 4 kg ICE seized

Chandigarh, Dec 10 (IANS) In a major multi-layered crackdown amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a drug-free state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police have dismantled a highly organised cross-border drug cartels linked to foreign-based handlers with the arrest of three operatives, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.

The police have also recovered 4.083 kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as ICE, and 1.032 kg of heroin from their possession.

Those arrested have been identified as Balwinder Singh alias Binder (25), a resident of Daoke village in Amritsar; Navtej Singh (33), a native of Mahwa village in Amritsar and currently residing at a village in Tarn Taran and Mahabir Singh (32), a resident of Kaaliya Sakataran village in Tarn Taran.

Apart from recovering contraband, police teams have also recovered Rs 2,500 drug money and impounded their one car and an Activa scooter.

DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were coordinating with smugglers in Pakistan and abroad using WhatsApp. Further investigation is ongoing to trace backward and forward linkages of the network, he said.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that the police had arrested suspect Balwinder Singh, alias Binder, with 35 gm ICE from his possession, and during interrogation, the latter revealed his links with a Pakistan-based trafficker, who shared drop locations through WhatsApp.

Acting on the accused’s disclosures, police recovered 2.042 kg of ICE drug, bringing the total recovery from him to 2.077 kg from his possession, he said.

Bhullar said that in a parallel operation, police intercepted suspect Navtej Singh with 40 gm of ICE drug. Further investigation revealed that the latter had previously worked in Doha in Qatar, where he connected with a handler there, he said, while adding that this handler later shifted operations to India through WhatsApp-based instructions.

Probe has revealed that Navtej had worked as a ground courier, retrieving drug packets and supplying them further. Based on his disclosures, police recovered an additional 1.966 kg of ICE drug, bringing the total recovered to 2.006 kg.

The Commissioner of Police said that in a third interception, police arrested Mahabir Singh with 1.032 kg of heroin in his possession.

Investigations uncovered that the latter was receiving consignments from a Pakistan-based smuggler using drone drops, indicating an advanced method of cross-border narcotics transport. In this regard, three separate cases — one dated December 5 under Sections 21-C and 29 of the NDPS Act and another dated December 9 under Section 21-C of the NDPS Act, both at Police Station Hakima and a third dated December 7 under Sections 22-B and 22-C of the NDPS Act at the Police Station in Chheharta — have been registered.

–IANS

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