Juvenile, 3 others held in drug trafficking case in Punjab's Amritsar

Chandigarh, Mar 10 (PTI) Punjab Police on Monday said it has dismantled a drug trafficking cartel with the arrest of four drug smugglers, including a 16-years-old boy, from Amritsar.

Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said police seized 4.01 kg heroin and Rs 20,000 cash from their possession.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Tarsem Singh alias Sema (23), Amrit Singh alias Abhi (21), both residents of Jalalabad, Fazilka; Ramanjit Singh alias Raman (19), a resident of Tarn Taran; and a juvenile from Ferozepur.

DGP Yadav said the accused were in constant contact with Pakistan-based smugglers, who were using the Ferozepur sector to push in drugs across the border and providing precise coordinates for the drops.

"The juvenile, whose identity has been withheld due to his age, played a critical role in the operation by using boats to cross the Sutlej River to retrieve drug consignments, dropped by Pakistani smugglers, from areas near the international border fencing," he said.

The DGP said two separate FIRs have been registered in this regard and further investigations are ongoing to establish backward and forward in both the cases. More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days, he added.

Sharing more details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on reliable information, police teams conducted a targeted different operations and apprehended the accused persons from areas of Chheharta and Cantonment.

The CP said that efforts are being made to uncover the entire network of suppliers, dealers, and buyers, as well as to ascertain the total quantity of drugs purchased by the arrested individuals so far. PTI CHS NB NB