3 with held with 8 kg heroin

Blurb: Smuggled drugs from Pak; kingpin faces several cases

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, March 3

The district police claimed to have busted an international drug trafficking network by arresting three suspects and seizing 8 kg heroin smuggled from Pakistan.

The main suspect, Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukhi, is said to be the nephew of Daya Singh Lahoria, a Khalistan terrorist lodged in Tihar Jail.

Giving information here today, SSP Navjot Singh Mahal said the Hoshiarpur police arrested Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Channwal village in Barnala; and Manpreet Singh, alias Kala, and Jagdeep Singh, alias Soni, both residents of Balbehra village in Patiala.

Sukhi is facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act.

In 2007, he was arrested in Sidhwan Bet with 6 kg heroin besides and four pistols. He was released on bail in 2019. “Sukhi used to visit Pakistan on the pretext of pilgrimage and developed connections with drug smugglers there. He had smuggled heroin on numerous occasions,” said the SSP.

A police team, led by SP (Investigation) RPS Sandhu, was present at a naka near Thuana village on Mahilpur-Phagwara Road around 11:30 pm last night when it received information of suspected smugglers ferrying a large quantity of heroin from Jammu and Kashmir in a car.

A vehicle with Haryana registration number was stopped. On search, eight packets containing 8 kg heroin were found from a secret compartment near the radiator. The police have registered a case against three under the NDPS Act.