Anti-drug drive: Mansa police nab 17 with poppy husk, illicit liquor

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 26

Continuing with its drive against drugs, the Mansa police on Friday conducted a search operation at suspicious places early in the morning and arrested 17 persons with drugs and liquor.

Talking to mediapersons, Mansa SSP Narinder Bhargav said they had recovered 55 gram of heroin, 3,650 sedative tablets, 220 litres of lahan, 92 bottles of liquor and 105 grams of poppy husk during the search operation. He said 516 policemen were involved in the operation that was conducted in 10 villages under the guidance of the SP and DSP-rank officials.

He said the police arrested Manjeet Singh and Jarnail Singh when they were on their way to sell heroin to drug addicts in their Honda City car near Boha village. They had purchased heroin from an unidentified man in New Delhi at a rate of Rs 1,000 per gram. They intended to sell it off to drug addicts in villages at Rs 3,000 per gram.

Similarly, the police nabbed five occupants of a Maruti Swift car near Kotra village and seized 20 gram of heroin from their possession. During interrogation, they admitted that they had sold the contraband in Haryana two to three times and had come to Punjab for the same purpose for the first time. They had procured heroin from Delhi.

One of the accused, Vinay Kumar, was well- educated and had contacted a foreign national on social media for getting the supply of heroin. The police seized 3,570 sedative tablets from Abhayjinder Singh of Fatehpur. The SSP said those arrested had been booked under the NDPS Act.

The Mansa police had kicked off a drive on Thursday and arrested 12 persons, including a woman. The search operation led to the recovery of 28 kg of poppy husk, 414 liquor bottles, 130 sedative pills, 5 gm of smack and 20 litres of lahan. The operation was carried out in Bareta, Budhlada, Bhikhi, Jhunir, Sardulgarh and Joga areas of Mansa district.

Most of the liquor seized during the raid was from Haryana with which Mansa district shares its border. In the past too, the police had recovered liquor while it was being smuggled from Haryana where it is cheaper than Punjab.