Police nail drugs, arms smuggler

Tribune News Service

Mohali, November 15

The crime investigation agency (CIA) of the local police arrested a drugs and arms smuggler, who was declared a proclaimed offender, late last night.

The accused, Chhinderpal Singh, alias Chhindi (37), a resident of Abohar, was wanted by the Punjab Police and the Rajasthan Police for the past two years.

A police team, led by Inspector Sukhbir Singh, set up a barricade at Shatabgarh village near Zirakpur last evening after the police got a tip-off that he was coming from the Ambala side in a white Toyota Fortuner. The police impounded his vehicle and seized a .32 bore pistol along with three live cartridges from him. 

A case has been registered against him under Section 25 of the Arms Act at the Zirakpur police station. The accused was produced in a court, which remanded him in five-day police custody.

The police said 17 criminal cases were registered against Chhindi in various police stations of Punjab and Rajasthan. He was also wanted by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Punjab and Rajasthan sectors. The Rajasthan Police had announced a reward for anyone giving information about Chhindi leading to his arrest.

According to the police, Chhindi was involved in drug smuggling since 2012 and was arrested with 5-kg drugs in 2015 for the first time. Since then, he established links with cross-border gangsters and smugglers from jail.

Out on bail, Chhindi again got active in a cross-border nexus of drugs and arms smuggling and received many consignments of heroin from his accomplices through the Punjab and Rajasthan borders and delivered the contraband to his conduits in Punjab, said the police.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Chahal said, “During interrogation, the accused revealed that he was familiar with the smuggling route and delivered a number of heroin consignments to his conduits in the state.” 

“The investigation is still on and we are trying to get more details from the accused,” the police oficer added.