Drug smuggling accused to be presented in court today

Military intelligence and other agencies interrogated two army jawaans, who were apprehended by the Punjab Police on charges of espionage and cross-border drug smuggling.

Amritpal Singh, a resident of Chamba Kalan village in Chohla Sahib, Tarn Taran, along with two drug peddlers, Mandeep Singh alias Maddy and Madhav Sharma from Rajasthan, were arrested on Thursday. Sandeep Singh, a resident of Sardoolgarh, was arrested in Patiala on Saturday. However, their accomplice Rajbir Singh, posted at the Nasik camp, managed to evade.

A senior police official involved in the investigation said Rajbir had links with Pakistan-based smugglers and ISI agents and was responsible for introducing Amritpal and Sandeep to them. The officer said both were involved in cross-border smuggling and further investigation uncovered they had also passed on sensitive military information, including unit locations, armoury details and personnel postings.

Amritpal was recruited at Khasa, while Sandeep joined through Sangrur. The police are also investigating their connections with drug traffickers along the border area.

Currently in police remand, the two suspects are set to be presented in court on Monday. Authorities have seized 500 gm of heroin, Rs 10 lakh in drug money, a cash counting machine and a .30 bore pistol from their possession.