Drug module busted, 5 held

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 8

The Punjab Police today claimed to have busted a module of gangsters and drugs traffickers involved in smuggling 500 kg heroin from Pakistan in the past few years.

The breakthrough came on disclosures made by gangster Gavi Singh, who was arrested recently. Five of his accomplices have been arrested with drugs and weapons.

A spokesperson for the police said Gavi, alias Vijay, alias Giani, an aide of wanted gangster Jaipal, was arrested from Seraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand on April 26 during a joint operation by the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) of Punjab Police and SAS Nagar police.

The spokesperson said those arrested included Karanbir Singh, Harmanjit Singh, Gurjaspreet Singh and Rawinder Iqbal Singh, all from Tarn Taran district, and Samuel, alias Sam, from Ferozepur. The suspects are facing several criminal cases across different districts of the state.

The police have recovered 1.25 kg heroin from Gavi’s rented flat located in Kharar, besides seizing three pistols and 23 cartridges from his hideouts. Three vehicles, including a Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Verna, being used for smuggling drugs had also been recovered, he added.

He said Samuel, who was staying with Gavi in Jamshedpur, had flown to Delhi prior to Gavi’s arrest. Samuel is learnt to have handled the distribution of heroin smuggled from Pakistan, he added.

Gavi told the police he had smuggled over 500 kg heroin along with weapons from Pakistan and supplied these across Punjab, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir over the past two-and-a-half years.

Gavi told the police there was a well-oiled smuggling machinery along the International Border and Pakistan-based smugglers were actively involved in smuggling weapons and drugs across the border.

Gavi is also learnt to have made a large number of financial transactions with individuals and entities based in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan through the hawala route as well as import/export companies based in New Delhi, which would require a deeper probe.

He admitted to having acquired a forged Indian passport from a travel agent on fake particulars and was planning to settle down in Portugal.

The bank accounts and properties of Gavi had been identified and shared with agencies concerned for further action.