Hawala racket linked with narco-terror module busted

With the arrest of two persons, the Amritsar (Rural) police have busted a hawala racket related to narco-terrorism module. The police recovered Rs 17.60 lakh and $4000 (US dollars) from their possession.

Those arrested were identified as Sukhjit Singh, a resident of Fatehpur, and Ranbir Singh, a resident of Anngarh in Amritsar. Apart from recovering Indian and foreign currency, the police team also seized one HP laptop, in which crucial transaction records was stored, from the possession of the accused.

337 drug smugglers arrested

Since the launch of special campaign "Yudh Nashian Virudh" from March 1, 2025, the Amritsar (Rural) police have arrested 337 drug smugglers in 192 FIRs registered under the NDPS Act. Police teams recovered 41 kg heroin, 1 kg Ice, Rs 26 lakh and 4,000 US dollars (drug money), six motorcycles, nine four-wheelers and 21 mobile phones from the possession of smugglers.

Their arrest was the outcome of interrogation of Gursahib Singh and Jaswant Singh, both residents of Hardo Ratan village. The police had recovered 561 grams of heroin from their possession on Friday.

Satinder Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Border, said during the ongoing investigation the two accused revealed their links with Hawala operators Sukhjit Singh and Ranbir Singh. As per preliminary investigation, they were allegedly facilitating illegal financial transactions linked to drug trafficking, the DIG said. He said more arrests and recoveries were likely during further course of investigation.

Maninder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar (Rural), said acting on a tip-off, a police team successfully nabbed both Hawala operators from India Gate, Chheharta, in Amritsar and recovered Indian and foreign currency along with one HP laptop from their possession. Further interrogation was underway to uncover their links in the Hawala network, he said.