Chandigarh, August 7
In two distinct trends that could spell trouble for Punjab, international watchdogs, including the UN, have warned that the state has become the biggest global gateway for drug trafficking while security agencies and the Punjab police have realised that almost all sections of society are involved in smuggling of drugs.

The Punjab police and various central agencies have launched a major offensive against drug traffickers and have collectively recovered 203 kg of heroin since the start of this year. This could be just 5 to 6 per cent of the drug that is trafficked into Punjab from Pakistan and Afghanistan, said officials.

The Punjab police has been on a special drive against drug smugglers for the past three months. The latest case was registered this morning by its counter-intelligence wing. Angrez Singh, alias Rajbir Singh, and his accomplice Gurpreet Singh were arrested in Amritsar with 3 kg of heroin, a Chinese made pistol and a SIM card of a Pakistani cellular operator.

The wing has seized 56 kgs of heroin and registered 20 cases during the drive. Investigations into these cases have revealed that the profile of drug traffickers has changed. DIG of the wing Jagdish Mittal says among those arrested included two women belonging to middle class families. One of the women was from Mohali. Mittal’s team also nabbed an Army man, who was posted at Amritsar. In yet another case, a cop Ramesh Kumar and his accomplice, a health worker, were arrested.

Mittal believes that mostly small packets of drugs (carrying 1 or 3 kg of drug) are thrown from across the electrified “cobra fence” on the border. Pakistani SIM cards are used for coordination between the two parties on either side of the fence. The river areas, where no fence exists, are also entry points for drug traffickers, Mittal adds.

A report of the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) has pointed out that Punjab has emerged as a new hub for smuggling drugs into India. It says the spurt seems to be connected with an increase in the legal flow of trade between India and Pakistan.

The Ludhiana-based wing of the director of revenue intelligence has nabbed people who were exploiting the legitimate import route between the two countries. DRI chief at Ludhiana Dhiraj Rastogi says drug consignments have been found in cloth bales and also in a consignment of cricket bats and balls. Another man was nabbed with big portraits of his family. The picture frames were stuffed with drugs. The DRI has recovered about 76 kg of heroin this year.

Punjab officials said they were aware of a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which says Punjab appears to be the new gateway for smuggling in narcotic substances.

Traffickers use the cities of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Ludhiana and Patiala and union territory of Chandigarh as a base to smuggle narcotic substances through Punjab into New Delhi and Mumbai for their further transportation to other countries.

Since the start of this year, the Chandigarh-based regional office narcotics control bureau had recovered 39 kg of heroin, the BSF has recovered 9 kg while various district police units of the Punjab police have recovered 23 kg of the drug.