Amritsar, July 30
The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) has booked four persons, including a Delhi-based man Pankaj Vaid, on the charge of cross-border smuggling.
Among others who were booked are Manpreet Singh of Sultanwind village, Harpinder Kumar of Rampura Phul in Bathinda, Surinder Singh of Tega Singh Wala in Ferozepur and several unidentified persons.
According to the SSOC, they were part of an international drug racket allegedly being led by Mohammad Hussain Dad, a prime suspect in the smuggling of biggest drug haul in the country with 3,000 kg of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore smuggled from Mudra port in Gujarat in September last year.
Dad along with two Pakistan residents Hazi Niyamatullah and Zamil were in contact with cross-border smugglers active on both sides of the international border. The informer told SSOC officials that Dad and his associates had developed a large-scale network on the Indo-Pak border along Punjab. SSOC officials said there has been a spurt in smuggling activities in Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur and Pathankot border areas.
Following a tip-off, the SSOC here registered an FIR under Sections 18, 21, 23-C, 24, 27-A, 29, 30 and 31 of the NDPS Act and Sections 120 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code in this regard on Thursday. An official of SSOC said a manhunt was launched to nab the four suspects. Their arrest would further lead to the busting of nexus in the border state, he said.
The official said Afghan-based traders Dad and his brother Mohammad Hassan were the alleged masterminds behind the racket involved in the smuggling of drugs via Iran to India. The network also comprised accomplices from Iran, Pakistan and India, including from Tamil Nadu. The seizure of 3,000 kg of
narcotics from Mudra port was currently being investigated by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) that also filed a chargesheet against 16 persons in this connection. The 10 persons arrested by the NIA so far include five Afghan nationals.
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