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Punjab druglord Bhola, four aides held near Delhi
Aman Sood/TNS

Patiala/Rajpura, November 11
Dismissed Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdish Singh Bhola, alleged kingpin of an extensive drug network in North India, along with his four associates was arrested from an eatery on the GT Road at Ghanaur, near New Delhi, today. Synthetic drugs worth crores of rupees were also seized from the accused.

Bhola was the alleged mastermind of the Rs 700-crore synthetic drug racket exposed by the Jalandhar Rural, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala district police and had been on the run ever since his Mohali residence was raided on March 3, 2013.

His network, primarily involving synthetic drug “ice”, spanned across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and other states with supply chain linking Canada, North America and Europe allegedly through more than 50 non-resident Indians (NRIs). Bhola was the alleged brain behind the drug supply chain.

The others arrested were Sarabjit Singh Saba from Amritsar, Harpreet Singh and Baljinder Singh from Tarn Taran, and Ravinder Singh from Sonepat (Haryana).

The arrests pave the way for a detailed investigation into the supply chain of drugs entering Punjab from across the border and then making its way into the rest of the country, and other Asian and European countries.

Police investigations suggest Bhola was also instrumental in selling drugs such as heroin and opium in Punjab.

A police team headed by Rajpura Superintendent of Police Bhupinder Khatra and Banur Station House Officer Bikramjit Brar arrested Bhola with drugs worth Rs 18 crore this afternoon.

Bhola was suspended from police service after his name figured in a drug smuggling racket in 2002 and the Narcotics Control Bureau arrested him in 2009.

Originally from Bathinda, the Arjuna Award winning wrestler was in constant touch with alleged NRI drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon, who was arrested earlier this year.

Bhola was allegedly instrumental in procuring raw material and preparing drugs in factories set up for the purpose. Police sources said Bhola had hired specialists from Vietnam and China (many of whom were NRIs) to package drugs with special wraps to evade detection by sniffer dogs and X-ray scanners at airports and cargo ports.

“He was diverting chemicals meant for medicinal purposes to illegal factories manufacturing synthetic drugs such as ‘ice’ and supplying these drugs to markets in Europe, Canada and the US,” claimed Patiala Superintendent of Police HS Mann. He said 50 NRIs who allegedly helped Bhola run the racket would soon be arrested.

As a result of the Punjab Police operations against Bhola, as many as eight FIRs had been registered against him and over 20 of his associates had been arrested by the police.

Police teams conducted raids in Delhi to recover more drugs and make further arrests. A team of Patiala Police recovered 26 passports, including one British, eight Canadian and 17 Indian, and some machines used in making fake visa and other travel documents. Punjab’s counter-intelligence unit will investigate the matter.

“We have sealed the flat in East Patel Nagar, Delhi, where Bhola was hiding from past few months,” an officer said.

Rs 700-cr drug ring

• Bhola (pic) is the alleged mastermind of the Rs 700-crore synthetic drug racket exposed by the Punjab Police earlier this year
• His ‘ice’ network spanned across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and other states with supply chain linking Canada, North America and Europe allegedly through 50 NRIs
• The decorated wrester was suspended from the Punjab Police after his name figured in a drug smuggling racket in 2002

An Arjuna Awardee