LUDHIANA: Sleuths of the Special Task Force, which has been set up to curb drug menace in Punjab, nabbed two persons here and recovered five kg of heroin from them, officials said.
During investigations, it has emerged that the accused were earlier arrested in drug cases in the USA and after completing their jail terms there, they were deported to India, a senior police official said here this evening, an STF official said.
Snehdeep Sharma, the Assistant Inspector General of the STF, told mediapersons that the culprits have been identified as Palwinderjit Singh Sidhu and Ravinder Singh, both from Jalandhar district.
Acting on a tip-off, a check point was set up at Moti Nagar near Samrala chowk. When the car was spotted and stopped near the check point, the two were overpowered by the policemen, he said.
"During the search it was found that they were carrying heroin in specially-made cloth belts tied to their body. Each of them carried two-and-a-half kg heroin," Sharma said, adding a case has been registered against them under the relevant provisions of the law.
The officer said during preliminary investigations it was revealed that the duo was working on the behest of notorious gangster Ranjit Singh alias Raja Kandola, presently lodged in Kapurthala jail on the charge of drug trade and various other crimes.
"The duo told the police that they used to bring heroin from Pakistan and made payments through hawala transactions. Raja Kandola has also been booked in the fresh case registered against the duo today," Sharma said.
The two accused were later produced in a local court which remanded them in police custody for three days. Sharma said Raja Kandola was stated to be kingpin of the drug racket and he too would be brought to Ludhiana.