Punjab Police foil major heroin smuggling bid along Indo-Pak border in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh/Amritsar, August 21

In an intelligence-led operation based on specific inputs, the Amritsar Rural Police foiled a major drug smuggling bid by Pakistan-based smugglers on Saturday morning by recovering 39 packets of heroin, weighing 40.81 kg, in the Panjgraian Border Outpost (BOP) area of Amritsar worth about Rs 200 crore in the international market.

The above operation was supported by the Border Security Force (BSF) as it was carried out in the border area under the control of the BSF.

Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said that following an input that Nirmal Singh alias Sonu Mayer, a notorious smuggler of Gharinda area, was attempting to smuggle heroin through the Indo-Pak Border, SSP Amritsar (Rural) Gulneet Singh Khurana immediately shared the inputs with the BSF. He added that in the meanwhile, a police team comprising DSP Investigation Gurinderpal Singh and DSP Ajnala Vipan Kumar also reached the spot to work with the BSF for nabbing the drug smugglers and seizing the heroin.

The DGP said that the joint teams of Punjab Police and BSF successfully seized the huge heroin cache besides recovering 180 gram opium and two plastic pipes (manufactured by Super Punjab Pump, Made in Pakistan). The police have also impounded a motorcycle and a Scooty belonging to the smugglers.

“The police have launched a manhunt to arrest Sonu, who is also wanted by the Tarn Taran police in case of 1 kg heroin recovery in 2020,” said SSP Khurana, adding that investigations were on and all the accused persons were likely to be arrested soon.

Sharing the modus operandi, SSP Khurana said that the smugglers used Pakistan-made plastic pipes to get the heroin across the border fence in the shape of neatly tied packets of heroin contraband.

An FIR under Sections 21, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act, Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and Sections 3, 34, 20 of the Indian Passport Act had been registered at Police Station Ramdas, Amritsar, he added.