Solan police tighten noose on narco economy

In yet another decisive strike against the growing menace of narcotics, the Solan police have seized assets worth Rs 86 lakh from Zirakpur in connection with a high-profile case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The confiscated properties include houses, residential plots, luxury cars, motorcycles and cash deposits — all traced back to drug trade proceeds.

The chain of events began in July 2025, when the Parwanoo police, during routine patrolling, nabbed 23-year-old Rocky Kumar, a resident of Bhero Ki Sair village in Kalka. Rocky was caught with 25 grams of heroin, which he was allegedly preparing to sell to young buyers in the Parwanoo area. Booked under Section 21 of the NDPS Act, his arrest turned out to be the first thread in unravelling a much larger narco-network.

As investigators delved deeper, it emerged that Rocky had been peddling drugs for over a year. He was not only selling narcotics locally but also funnelling lakhs of rupees into the bank accounts of a major supplier named Sandeep, based in Zirakpur.

The financial and technical trail led police to Sandeep Kumar, alias Arjun alias Shanti, a 28-year-old resident of Ekta Colony, Bhairon Ki Ser, Kalka, originally hailing from Hisar, Haryana. Unlike street peddlers, Sandeep was operating at a much higher scale.

To evade detection, he used SIM cards issued in others’ names and maintained a Federal Bank account exclusively for drug money transactions. Rocky was just one of the many who deposited large sums into this account.

Probing his background, the Solan police found Sandeep to be a seasoned operator, supplying heroin across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. He was no stranger to law enforcement, having earlier been booked by the Dhali police in Shimla for similar crimes.

The deeper the investigators dug, the more startling the revelations. Sandeep had used his drug empire’s profits to acquire a string of assets. These included: A 50 sq. yard residential house in Bhairon Ki Ser village; A 100 sq. yard plot in Derabassi, Punjab; luxury vehicles such as a Vitara Brezza LDI, a Hyundai Creta and a Royal Enfield motorcycle; and substantial cash deposits and fixed deposits.

Interestingly, much of this property was purchased in the name of his mother and family members — a deliberate attempt to mask his illicit wealth. Investigations confirmed that these holdings were disproportionate to the family’s known sources of income, cementing the case for seizure.

Solan SP Gaurav Singh, who has been spearheading the anti-narcotics campaign, emphasised that seizing assets is a critical deterrent against habitual peddlers. “Since 2024, the Solan police have been seizing and freezing the property of drug smugglers to choke their illegal trade. In just one year, we confiscated assets worth over Rs 9 crore from 32 accused across 10 cases,” he said.

Of these, two cases related to cannabis smuggling, including one where 37 kg of high-quality cannabis was seized, while the remaining eight cases involved heroin networks. The confiscated assets range from luxury hotels and vehicles to residential plots and fixed deposits — many located outside Himachal Pradesh.

By striking at the financial foundations of drug syndicates, the Solan police aim to cripple operations that thrive on illicit wealth. The latest seizure of Sandeep Kumar’s Rs 86 lakh empire underscores the force’s determination to dismantle not just the peddlers on the ground but also the financiers and suppliers who run the narcotics economy across state lines.