In a major breakthrough, Amritsar Commissionerate Police dismantled a well-organised narco-hawala cartel led by Arshdeep, currently incarcerated at Goindwal Jail.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs, police teams arrested six operatives and recovered 4.526 kg of heroin along with Rs 8.7 lakh in drug money.

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Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday that preliminary investigation revealed that Arshdeep, in connivance with his associates Jaspreet and Karan, was orchestrating the drug trade and hawala transactions. Karan, along with Gurmeet and Rajinderpal, was responsible for retrieving cross-border consignments and distributing them across various districts of Punjab.

The proceeds from the narcotics trade were laundered via hawala channels by Jaspreet, routed to Dubai, UAE and subsequently to Pakistan. The mobile phone used by Arshdeep within the jail has been recovered, providing crucial evidence of their cross-border operations,” said DGP Yadav, while sharing details in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

One of the arrested accused spent a year in Dubai, where he established links with Pakistani smugglers. Given his village’s proximity to the international border, he facilitated the smuggling of consignments directly to his residence upon his return to India two months ago, in formed the Punjab Police DGP.

“This crackdown underscores @PunjabPoliceInd unwavering commitment to dismantling drug networks and disrupting their financial channels. We will continue to act decisively to safeguard our communities from the scourge of drug trafficking,” he wrote further.