Over 10 kg heroin recovered in Amritsar, 3 held

Chandigarh, May 18 (PTI) Punjab Police on Sunday said it has busted an international narco trafficking cartel with the arrest of its three operatives after recovering 10.2 kg heroin from their possession.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the accused have been identified as Akashdeep Singh (22) and Akash alias Mota (19), both residents of Cheema Kalan in Tarn Taran and Sandeep Singh (30), a resident of Kotli Vasawa Singh in Tarn Taran.

Apart from recovering heroin, police have also impounded their two motorcycles, which were being used to deliver the drugs.

DGP Yadav said a preliminary probe has revealed that Akashdeep and Sandeep remained in touch with some Pakistan smugglers from across the border for the past six years.

The Pakistani smugglers were using drones to deliver heroin consignments across the border, which was then distributed at various locations for further distribution, he said, adding that further probe is on to trace backward and forward linkages in this network.

Amritsar Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said acting on reliable inputs, a team apprehended the accused Akashdeep Singh and Akash alias Mota from Gurudwara Bohri Sahib road, along with 1.01 kg heroin.

He said based on the interrogation of arrested accused persons, police teams also arrested their accomplice Sandeep from Chabhal Road along with 9.2 kg of heroin and a motorcycle.

Bhullar said Sandeep had allegedly been involved in supplying heroin since 2018-19 and is suspected to have smuggled over 200 kilograms of heroin so far.

Police remand has been obtained to interrogate the accused and uncover their entire network, he said, while adding that more arrests and recoveries are expected in the coming days. PTI CHS NB