Drug trafficking module busted; 5 arrested with 8.1kg heroin

Busting a heroin trafficking cartel, the Amritsar City Police Commissionerate have arrested notorious smuggler Soni Singh, alias Soni, among five others and recovered 8.1kg heroin from his possession.

Among others who were arrested include Gursewak Singh, Vishaldeep Singh alias Gola, Gurpreet Singh and Arshdeep Singh — all residents of Ajnala in Amritsar.

Director General Punjab Police Gaurav Yadav said, “The syndicate was operating from Pakistan and drones were being used to deliver large consignments of heroin into the Indian territory.” As per initial probe, the syndicate used hotels as contraband dumps to circulate consignments further into the network, he added.

Further investigations are in progress to establish their forward and backward linkages in this case to identify handlers, supply chains and financial networks, he said.

Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that racket was busted following reliable Intelligence inputs. The Police arrested drug smuggler Soni from outskirts of the city along with 150 grams of heroin and drug money. Interrogation revealed that he had six cases of the NDPS Act registered against him. He was released from jail in June and had further delivered consignments of nearly 30 kg heroin that came via drones, supplying them further across the chain, he said.

His disclosure led to the arrest of his associates Gursewak Singh — who was held with 8.037 kg heroin. The latter was handling the consignments to be delivered in the city, Police Commissioner said. Further investigation led to the arrest of remaining active members of this smuggling module. More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days, he added.