Arms-drug Smuggling Racket Busted in Amritsar, 9 Held with Heroin & Weapons

AMRITSAR:
In a major breakthrough under the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ (War Against Drugs) campaign, Amritsar Police on Friday busted a transnational arms-narcotics module operated by handlers based in Pakistan and Malaysia, arresting nine persons in two separate cases.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar revealed that the smuggling network extended from Pakistan to Malaysia and Dubai, with consignments being sent across the border via drones. “We have arrested three individuals with five sophisticated weapons and 1 kg of heroin. The weapons include three 9 mm Glock pistols and two .30 bore Chinese pistols,” he said.

The arrested trio hails from Barnala, Fatehgarh Churian, and Tarn Taran. Two of them had recently returned from Malaysia with the explicit mission of executing the smuggling operation in Amritsar. “They were nabbed before they could deliver their consignment,” Bhullar said.

In a separate case, six more people were arrested with Rs 9.7 lac in drug and hawala money. Among them are individuals from Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Karnataka, including a woman named Saloni. “Our Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) arrested Danish with 150 grams of heroin. The money trail runs from Delhi to Dubai and back to Pakistan,” the Police Commissioner added.

Meanwhile, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav shared that on June 30, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police, in coordination with the BSF and Rajasthan Police, dismantled an international drug cartel.

A massive 60.3 kg of heroin was seized near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer, Rajasthan. The cartel was reportedly operated by Pakistan-based Tanveer Shah and Canada-based Joban Kaler.

Investigations are ongoing into the full extent of international linkages involved in the arms and narcotics trade.