STF arrested 111 smugglers with 38 kg of heroin in Ludhiana in a year

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 30

The Special Task Force (STF) wing of Ludhiana have arrested 111 smugglers and recovered a big quantity of heroin from their possession this year.

9 city cops held with drugs in past four years

• Jan 2018: HC Pawan Kumar posted at Police Lines, Ludhiana, nabbed with 65-gm heroin.
• June 2019: ASI Major Singh, Ludhiana, held with 5.5-kg opium, 26 cartridges and .32 bore revolver.
• Aug 2019: HC Gagandeep Gaggi, Khanna, held with 785-gram heroin.
• Oct 2019: HCs of Ludhiana police Gurpreet Singh and Dharminder Singh, held with 12-gm heroin and 10-gm charas
• Nov 2019: HC Amandeep Singh, Ludhiana, held with 51-gm heroin.
• Nov 2019: ASI Jagjit Singh, Ludhiana, held with 500-gm opium.
• Feb 2020: HC Balbir of Ludhiana police held with 21-gm heroin.
• Feb 2020: SHO Amandeep Singh Gill, Ludhiana, held with 10-gm heroin and 50 gram opium.
• July 2020: Dhiraj Kumar Dhiru of Sirsa, a stenographer in Sirsa, held with 580-gm heroin
• Aug 2021: ASI Rajinderpal Singh, Ludhiana, held with 350-kg poppy husk.

As per the data obtained from the STF, Ludhiana, from January 1, 2021, to December 30 it registered 56 drug smuggling cases, arrested 111 smugglers and recovered 38 kg of heroin. The value of the seized drugs is around Rs 200 crore in the international market.

Besides heroin, the STF also seized 10 kg of opium, 449 kg of poppy husk, 35,946 intoxicating tablets, and Rs 27.22 lakh drug money from smugglers in 2021. All these smugglers were arrested by STF, Ludhiana, in-charge, inspector Harbans Singh, under the supervision of STF AIG Snehdeep Sharma.

STF AIG Snehdeep Sharma said the drive against drugs would continue and smugglers would not be allowed to fulfil their nefarious designs. “Our STF team always remain alert to catch drug peddlers,” he added.

Commissionerate’s recovery is less than STF

The STF wing, which has about 12 police officials, have seized 38 kg heroin in 2021. However, the recovery of the Ludhiana Commissionerate, which has a big number of officials and 28 police stations, is less than the STF. The Ludhiana police saw two Police Commissioners this year, Rakesh Agrawal and incumbent CP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. But the police under their leadership made little drug recovery. Notably since 2017, the STF nabbed over 525 smugglers from the jurisdiction of the Ludhiana Commissionerate and recovered over 250 kg of heroin.

Bomb blast suspect was too nabbed by STF in 2019

Court complex bomb blast suspect, head constable Gagandeep Singh, alias Gaggi, was also arrested by the Special Task Force, Ludhiana, along with his accomplices with 785 gm of heroin in 2019.

After his arrest, he was dismissed by the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana.

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