Punjab Police Arrests Smuggler, Seizes Heroin With Pakistan, US Based Syndicate Links

Chandigarh:

The Punjab Police on Monday claimed to have arrested a drug smuggler with syndicates in Pakistan and the US and recovered 15 kilogrammes of heroin from him.

The accused who was arrested is Harshpreet Singh, a resident of Roranwala in Amritsar, said Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.

Besides recovering the heroin, police units from Tarn Taran also seized a two-wheeler used for smuggling the drugs.

The development came on the heels of the Tarn Taran Police busting a drug cartel with the arrest of two smugglers and the confiscation of six kilogrammes of heroin yesterday, as per an official press release.

Yadav added that initial investigations showed that the consignment was attached to a syndicate run by US-based Gurnam Kallowal, traceable to a Pakistan-based smuggler named Pahalwan.

The police chief further stated that Pahalwan was utilizing drones to send consignments of drugs from over the border.

An investigation has also brought to light that Singh was collecting the consignments to further distribute them among local peddlers and forwarding the proceeds through hawala channels on behalf of his US-based handler Kallowal, he added.

Backward and forward linkages are being pursued further in order to establish.

Sharing information about the operation, Senior Superintendent of Police (Tarn Taran) informed police teams have initiated an intelligence-based operation, following credible inputs about Singh’s movements, and arrested him from Rakh Sarai Amanat Khan in the district when he was heading to hand over a consignment.

Efforts are on to reveal the whole chain of suppliers, dealers and consumers, and determine the overall amount of drugs received by the accused. Further arrests and seizures are on the cards in the next few days, he said.

A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Tarn Taran Sadar police station.