Interstate drug, arms racket busted; four in Chandigarh Police net

In a pre-Independence Day crackdown, the Operations Cell of the UT police busted an interstate network of arms suppliers and drug peddlers operating across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. The operation, which, the police say, also averted a potential gang war in the region, led to the arrest of four accused and recovery of narcotics and illegal firearms.

Ajit Singh, alias Karam Singh (24) of Mandi; Amar Singh (35) of Kullu; Rishab Dev (30) of Mandi; and Shamshad Ali, alias Jaggi (26), of Fatehgarh Sahib, were arrested in separate cases registered between August 6 and 11.

The combined haul included 1.79 kg of charas (hashish), 53.90 grams of heroin and two pistols. The police believe the charas was procured from Himachal Pradesh, while the heroin and weapons were routed through organised gang networks with links abroad.

The first breakthrough came on August 6, when Ajit Singh was arrested in Mauli Jagran area with 494.44 grams of charas. Employed as a waiter in a Panchkula hotel earlier, he allegedly became involved in drug trafficking after meeting peddlers from Mandi and Kullu. He procured narcotics from Himachal Pradesh and distributed it in the tricity area.

His interrogation led the police to Amar Singh, who was arrested on August 8 in Sector 26 with 708 grams of charas. A habitual offender, Amar Singh was convicted in 2016 by a Himachal court for possession of 1.25 kg of charas and sentenced to 12-year imprisonment. Released on bail a few months ago, he is accused of supplying drugs from Kullu to local distributors.

On August 11, the police caught Rishab Dev in Sector 27 with 588 grams of charas. Investigations revealed that he allegedly cultivated cannabis alongside vegetables on his farm in Mandi, processed it himself and transported it under the guise of vegetable deliveries to the tricity.

Acting on a tip-off, the police nabbed Shamshad Ali, alias Jaggi, with 53.90 grams of heroin in the city on August 8. Described as a “proclaimed offender” in an earlier case from Bassi Pathana, Fatehgarh Sahib, he is alleged to be a sharpshooter for the Harpreet, alias Happy, gang. This gang gets directions from Portugal, with weapons and targets assigned for hits in Punjab and Chandigarh.

Shamshad Ali is accused of supplying firearms to gang members and heroin to local peddlers in Mohali and Chandigarh. During his police remand, investigators recovered a pistol and a country-made desi katta based on his disclosures. His accomplices, Gurjant, alias Janta, is reportedly in Italy.

The police claimed Shamshad Ali’s arrest prevented a major gang confrontation in the region. With kingpins operating from abroad, the local cells reportedly relied on individuals like Ali to execute targeted violence and to sustain the drug trade.

Senior officers said with the Independence Day celebrations and the festive season approaching, the Operations Cell intensified vehicle checks and surveillance across the Union Territory. The arrests, they said, were the result of sustained intelligence-gathering and coordination, and represented a significant dent in the arms–drugs nexus feeding crime in the tricity area.

“All four accused are being interrogated to unearth the wider network. Our focus is on tracking both the supply chain of narcotics and the arms pipeline, particularly links to cross-border and overseas handlers,” said Geetanjali Khandelwal, SP Operations, Chandigarh.