Seven arrested with 12 gm heroin

In an overnight operation, the Palampur police arrested seven individuals involved in drug smuggling and recovered 12.42 gm of heroin (chitta) from their possession.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Bunty, Rakesh Kumar, Rimpu, Maneet Kumar, Akshay Kumar, Akshay Sharma and Sandeep Rana — all residents of Palampur and Baijnath. According to the police, they had been running a drug racket for a long time, sourcing heroin from peddlers in Punjab and distributing it in Palampur and Baijnath.

Kangra Superintendent of Police (SP) Shalini Agnihotri stated that in the past month alone, over 25 cases under the NDPS Act have been registered across different police stations, leading to the arrest of more than 50 individuals and the seizure of large quantities of chitta and charas.

The SP further mentioned that the Kangra police have launched a major crackdown on drug trafficking. As part of this operation, two women — Kulwant Kaur and Germanpreet Kaur — were recently arrested while attempting to flee to Canada from Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. SP Agnihotri said over two dozen dedicated teams of Kangra police are working round the clock to curb drug peddling in the region.