CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have busted a Pakistan-backed international drug cartel with the arrest of six individuals, including an Army personnel and a dismissed police employee.
Police recovered 4.8 kg of heroin and a .30 bore pistol along with three live cartridges from their possession.
Director General of Police, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday that the arrested accused have been identified as Jarnail Singh alias Goldy of Ludhiana, who is currently serving in the Indian Army; Amardeep Singh alias Boxer, a dismissed PAP cadre employee; and Dimple Rani of Ferozepur; along with Ramandeep Kaur, Sarabjit Singh alias Sabba, and Amritpal Singh alias Abhijot, all residents of Moga.
Apart from the contraband, police also seized Rs 30,000 in drug money and impounded two vehicles, a Thar and an XUV-500, used for trafficking.
Yadav said the breakthrough was the result of a meticulously planned, intelligence-led operation and a two-month-long jail-based interception that exposed the cartel’s deep-rooted linkages.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused were in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers who used drones to push heroin consignments into Indian territory. Further investigation is underway to establish both forward and backward linkages.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police, Faridkot, Dr Pragya Jain said that on the intervening night of February 20 and 21, a CIA Staff team intercepted a Thar vehicle near Green Avenue. A search conducted under the supervision of DSP Faridkot Tarlochan Singh led to the recovery of 1.008 kg heroin and drug money, resulting in the immediate arrest of four occupants.
“During subsequent interrogation, it was revealed that the consignment was supplied by Amardeep Singh alias Boxer in an XUV-500 vehicle. Acting on this lead, police teams intercepted Boxer and his associate Dimple Rani near village Goleana Semnala, recovering an additional 3.796 kg of heroin and a .30 bore pistol from their possession,” she said.
Jain further said that the main kingpin, Amardeep Singh alias Boxer, is a habitual offender with nine previous criminal cases, while other members also have significant criminal records under the NDPS and Arms Acts.
The involvement of a serving Army personnel and a dismissed police official points to a sophisticated network capable of exploiting institutional knowledge for trafficking, including the misuse of official identity cards to pass through nakas and toll plazas.
The use of women accomplices in vehicles also indicated a well-thought-out modus operandi for narcotics smuggling.
Police have obtained remand of all the accused to further probe the forward and backward linkages, focusing on handlers operating from across the border and local distribution points.
A case has been registered under Sections 21(c) and 27A of the NDPS Act at Police Station City Faridkot.