Five held with heroin, Rs 8.5L drug money, pistols

The CIA staff of Amritsar (Rural) police have arrested two Ferozepur residents among five cross-border smugglers and recovered

Rs 8.5 lakh drug money along with two pistols and 160gm of heroin from their possession.

The contraband and weapons were smuggled from Pakistan through drone. The suspects had already sold a major portion of the contraband before they were caught by the police following a tip-off.

Sources in the Police Department said during the last 15 days, the suspects smuggled around 1.5kg of contraband from Pakistan.

Those arrested were identified as Sukhchain Singh, Sukhpal Singh and Navdeep Singh, all residents of Daoke border village, Sukhbir Singh and Rahul, alias Nikku, both residents of Basti Khalia in Ferozepur district.

Charanjit Singh, SSP, Amritsar (Rural), confirmed the seizure and arrest of drug traffickers. He said while patrolling from Khurmania village to Boparai village, the police got specific information from an informer that Sukhchain Singh was in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers and had recently got smuggled a contraband and weapons through their accomplices from across the border.

The SSP said Sukhchain along with his accomplices used to supply drug in Amritsar and the adjoining areas. The suspects were travelling in a car (bearing registration number PB-05-AQ-3350) and on a bike (bearing registration number PB-02-A-1042) on the road heading from Khasa to Ramtirath via Khurmania link road, the SSP said.

Immediately, police teams laid a naka, intercepted the suspects and recovered heroin, pistols, drug money and four mobile phones from the suspects, the SSP added. The car and bike used by the suspects was impounded, the SSP said. A .32 bore pistol without magazine and a .30 bore pistol also without magazine and barrel were seized from the suspects, the SSP said.

The SSP said Sukhchain already had two cases of the NDPS registered against him. One was registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau, he added. Rahul had one case registered against him, the SSP said. Sukhbir had a murder case registered against him in Ferozepur, the SSP said.

A case under relevant sections of the NDPS Act and the Arms Act was registered against the five suspects. They were produced before a court and brought on seven-day police remand for further probe to establish their backward and forward links.