Interstate gangs involved in smuggling of drugs busted

Jalandhar, July 2

The Jalandhar Police Commissionerate claimed to have busted two interstate gangs involved in smuggling of drugs with the arrest of four persons, and recovered 1.5 kg opium and 100 gm heroin from their possession.

The recoveries

• The police saw two persons coming on foot from the Phagwara side. On suspicion, the police stopped them for checking. During frisking, the police recovered 1.5 kg opium from them.
• The police laid a checkpoint near Y-Point Mission Compound. They stopped two youths on suspicion. During checking, they recovered 100 grams of heroin from them.

Divulging details, Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said following a tip-off, the police laid a checkpoint near the service road at Barring Gate, Hayden Park. The police saw two persons coming on foot from the Phagwara side.

“On suspicion, the police stopped them for checking. During frisking, the police recovered 1.5 kg opium from them,” he said.

Swinging into action, the police arrested the suspects identified as Varinder Dagi and Ravi Kumar, both residents of Chatra district, Jharkhand. A case under Sections 20, 61 and 85 of NDPS Act has been registered against the suspects at the Cantonment police station.

Sharma said during investigation, Ravi confessed that he started smuggling opium due to poor financial condition. It also came to fore that Varinder went to Mumbai in 2001 and started driving an auto-rickshaw. In 2018, he returned to his hometown due to illness and started smuggling opium. Further investigations are underway into the matter.

In another case, the police laid a checkpoint near Y-Point Mission Compound. They stopped two youths on suspicion. During checking, they recovered 100 grams of heroin from them.

Sharma said the suspects had been identified as Meva Singh and Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, both residents of Kapurthala. A case under Sections 21-61-85 of the NDPS Act had been registered against the suspects at the Division No. 2 police station.

He said during investigation, it came to fore that Meva Singh was unemployed. To earn money, he started smuggling heroin. Gurpreet said he was currently working as a labourer and had little income. He started smuggling heroin to make both ends meet.

The Police Commissioner said the duo had a criminal past as a case was already pending against Meva Singh, while two FIRs were already registered against Gurpreet. Further investigations were on into the case.