Chandigarh: The Punjab Police has seized 27 kg of heroin in two separate operations and arrested a man, officials said on Saturday. Pritam Singh, a resident of Mohar Jamsher village in Fazilka, was arrested with 15 kg of heroin, they said and added that the narcotic substance was concealed beneath heaps of wheat straw being transported by him in a tractor-trolley.
The arrest was made by the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Fazilka, which has seized 147 kg of heroin in the last 45 days, Director General of Punjab Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said. "In an intelligence-led operation against trans-border narcotic smuggling networks, SSOC-Fazilka has recovered 15 kg of heroin after arresting one drug trafficker," Yadav posted on X.
The seizure was made during the search of the tractor-trolley, the DGP said and added that an FIR has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The case has been registered at SSOC-Fazilka police station, according to officials. In another operation, the Jalandhar Rural Police seized 12 kg of heroin, they said.
"In an ongoing intelligence-based operation against the cross-border drug trafficking network, the Jalandhar Rural Police has effected seizure of another 12 kg heroin, after initial seizure of nine kg heroin -- total 21 kg heroin recovered in last three days," the DGP said in another post on X. He said an FIR has been registered under the NDPS Act at the Goraya police station.
In a statement, DGP Yadav said the Punjab Police seized the 12 kg of heroin from two locations -- (six kg each). The seizure was made on information gathered from an arrested "big fish" drug trafficker, Malkiat Singh alias Kali, from his village Tendi Wala in Ferozepur, he said. The development came two days after the Jalandhar Rural Police arrested Malkiat Singh after seizing nine kg of heroin from his possession, the officer said in a statement later.
Till now, including the fresh seizure, 43.5 kg of heroin of a 50 kg consignment of Malkiat Sing has been taken into custody, officials said. "This recovery is yet another tranche of the 50 kg heroin consignment, which was fetched by three swimmers from Pakistan on the directions of drug smuggler Malkiat Kali. Police teams have effectively recovered 43.5 kg of heroin after arresting at least five drug smugglers, including one swimmer identified as Joga Singh, while, the search is on to nab the remaining two swimmers -- identified as Gurdeep Singh alias Rangi and Gurwinder Singh alias Mashtangi, both resident of village Tendi Wala, Ferozepur," the DGP said.
Jalandhar Senior Superintendent of Police, Rural, Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said during questioning, Malkiat Singh revealed that according to the deal, Rs 1 crore was to be paid to the swimmers. A payment of Rs 5 crore was also to be sent to Pakistan-based smuggler Haider Ali through a Hawala transaction after the consignment was sold, he said.
He said that the probe revealed that the remaining portion of about 6.5 kg of heroin is with accused Rangi and Mashtangi, and a search is underway to nab them. Giving details about the arrest and seizure made by SSOC-Fazilka, Yadav, in a statement later said that 10 packets of heroin, weighing 15 kg, were seized.
The arrested person has been identified as Pritam Singh of Mohar Jamsher village in Fazilka, the DGP said and added that apart from seizing the heroin, police teams have also impounded his tractor-trolley, in which he was travelling. Yadav said that following intelligence inputs, SSOC-Fazilka launched a special secret operation against trans-border narcotic smuggling networks in the Dhani Kharas Wali village area and arrested Pritam Singh.
He was on his way to deliver the heroin consignment, which was beneath wheat straw kept on trolley, he said. The DGP said the drug smuggler was travelling along with his wife, identified as Kushalya Bai and son-in-law, identified as Gurmeet Singh, of village Dhani Kharas Wali in Fazilka. Kushalya Bai and Gurmeet Singh managed to escape, he said.
Not ruling out the possibility of the consignment being smuggled through a riverine route, the DGP said, "This family was among the few households of border village -- Mohar Jamsher -- who insisted on staying put at their flood-ravaged premises despite repeated requests by the district administration and police authorities to move to the safer places."
Additional Inspector General, SSOC-Fazilka, Lakhbir Singh, said that police are investigating the case and more seizures are expected. "We have also booked absconding accused Kaushlya Bai and Gurmeet Singh," he said, adding that a search in underway to arrest them. (PTI)
