CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF) and Rajasthan Police seized over 60 kg of heroin and arrested nine persons, thereby dismantling an international drug syndicate involved in trans-border drug trafficking which was being coordinated by Pakistan based smuggler Tanveer Shah and Canada based Indian origin smuggler Joban Kaler.
The contraband was seized from near the Indo-Pak international border in Barmer of Rajasthan and the nine suspects, including a woman, were arrested from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir during the interstate operation by Amritsar Police Commissionerate.
Among the suspects, six have been identified as Gursahib Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Parshotam Singh, Gagandeep Singh and Rajinder Kaur, all residents of Amritsar district.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said that this racket was operated by Canada-based Indian smuggler Joban Kaler and notorious Pakistani drug smuggler Tanveer Shah.
"In a massive crackdown, Amritsar Police Commissionerate, with the support of the BSF and Rajasthan Police, dismantled a major international drug cartel operated by Pakistan-based smuggler Tanveer Shah and Canada-based handler Joban Kaler, recovering a huge consignment of 60.302 kg heroin near the International Border in Barmer, Rajasthan,” said Yadav wrote on X.
Yadav further added that among those arrested were smugglers and hawala racketeers, and further investigation is underway to expose the entire network’s backward and forward links. More arrests are likely during the course of the investigation.