Punjab: Father-son duo among four held with 12 kg heroin

Acting swiftly on forward-backward linkages in the 8.1 kg heroin recovery case, the Commissionerate Police Amritsar has arrested four more drug smugglers and recovered 12 kg of heroin along with .30 bore pistol and a magazine from their possession, taking the total seizure of heroin in this case to 20.1 kg, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.

The arrested accused have been identified Gurbhej Singh (50) and his son Gurdit Singh (22), both residents of village Narla in Tarn Taran; Malkit Singh (50) of village Dall in Tarn Taran and Gurjit Singh (29) of village Kotli Saka in Ajnala, Amritsar.

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The development came close on the heels of the Punjab Police busting a heroin trafficking cartel with the arrest of the notorious drug smuggler identified as Soni Singh alias Soni along with his four associates — Gursewak Singh, Vishaldeep Singh alias Gola, Gurpreet Singh and Arshdeep Singh— and recovered 8.1kg heroin from their possession.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said the latest arrests have exposed another strong node of the trans-border cartel operating in Tarn Taran and Amritsar Rural sectors. All accused persons were using WhatsApp to communicate with each other and with the Pakistan-based smugglers, he said.

The DGP said as further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case, more arrests and recoveries are likely in the coming days.

Sharing operation details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that during interrogation, arrested drug smuggler Gursewak Singh revealed that a father-son duo, Gurbhej Singh and Gurdit Singh, along with Malkit Singh, were running the drug syndicate in the area. Gurbhej Singh was coordinating smuggling operations in the border area of the Tarn Taran sector and maintained direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers. Gurbhej Singh had been receiving consignments via drone drop-offs in fields owned by his associate, Malkit Singh, located close to the International border.

Gurbhej was using cattle-sheds to safely conceal the heroin consignments, he said, adding that following his disclosure, 10 kg of heroin was recovered from an earthen pit in plastic containers at his house.

CP Gurpreet Bhullar said further investigation in this case has led to the identification and arrest of Gurjit Singh. During a search of the latter’s house, 2.006 kg of heroin, along with a .30 bore pistol and a magazine, were recovered, he said, while adding that the pistol was concealed inside his bed mattress.

An FIR has already been filed in the case under Sections 21-B, 27-A, 21-C and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Chheharta in Amritsar.