New Delhi: The NIA on Monday filed its sixth supplementary chargesheet in a case related to the seizure of 500 kilograms of heroin at the Salaya Port in Gujarat which was smuggled from Pakistan, the agency said.
Four accused have been charge-sheeted in the NIA Special Court, Ahmedabad, under the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said. The official said that all the four charge-sheeted accused -- Harminder Singh alias 'Romi Randhawa', Manjit Singh alias 'Manna', Kuldeep Singh and Malkit Singh -- are residents of Punjab.
"Investigations have revealed that they had played a pivotal role in transporting, purifying and distributing the drug in various places across Punjab, and used the drug proceeds to raise and use funds for carrying out activities relating to terror and crime. They had acted on the directions of the wanted accused," the spokesperson said.
So far, 24 people have been arrested in the case while nine are at large. The absconders include Italy-based and one of India's most wanted drug smuggler-trafficker Simranjeet Singh Sandhu, Pakistan-based wanted accused Hajisaab alias 'Bhaijaan', Nabi Baksh and Australia-based Tanvir Singh Bedi, the official said.
The spokesperson said that the NIA has managed to trace the linkages of the arrested accused to these wanted criminals. The federal agency said the case had exposed a huge criminal conspiracy to smuggle narcotics into India from Pakistan using the sea route. "The consignment was being further smuggled to Punjab through Delhi, where it was brought from Gujarat after landing at the port there. The accused were involved in smuggling, transportation, storage, purification and distribution of illicit drugs, the spokesperson said.
According to NIA investigation, Harminder Singh and Manjit Singh had taken warehouses and residential houses on rent in Ludhiana in Punjab for storing the smuggled drugs at the behest of Bedi. "Kuldeep along with Malkit (Singh) had aided another accused, Sukhbir Singh alias 'Happy', in escorting heroin/drug purification chemical laden vehicles multiple times from Delhi to Ludhiana and Amritsar (in Punjab) to avoid raising suspicion and police checks, as the Bolero vehicle (on which Kuldeep was employed as a driver by a gurudwara) was registered in the name of a gurudwara in Fatehgarh Sahib district (Punjab)," the spokesperson said.
The case was originally registered by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on August 12, 2018, following the seizure of heroin from accused Aziz Abdul Bhagad who had pilfered five kilogram from a 100 kilogram heroin consignment smuggled into India from Pakistan. He had concealed the heroin in a pit near his village in Gujarat, leading to his eventual arrest, the spokesperson said. Considering national security ramifications of international linkages, the home affairs ministry had transferred the case to the NIA on June 29, 2020. (PTI)
