3.5 kg heroin, 1.5 kg rave drug seized in Amritsar

Busting yet another trans-border drug and weapon smuggling module, the city police have confiscated 3.5 kg heroin along with 1.5 kg methaqualone (a rave party drug), besides two pistols, including a sophisticated Austria-made 9 mm Glock, from two persons.

Hypnotic sedative, methaqualone, has been seized for the first time in Amritsar. It is used as a recreational drug in rave parties in metropolitan cities.

An expensive drug, its manufacturing, possession and transportation is an offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the country. Investigations are on to ascertain where the drug was being taken.

The arrested suspects have been identified as Vansh (23), alias Billa, of Billai Wala Chowk and Sonu Chaurasi of Dashmesh Nagar under the Mohkampura police station here. Commissioner of Police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the CIA staff received a tip-off that Vansh, who works in a screw manufacturing unit, had been involved in smuggling of drugs for the past couple of months.

A raid was conducted at his residence, where a police team led by Binderjit Singh seized 3.5 kg heroin, 1.5 kg methaqualone powder and an Austria-made 9mm Glock pistol from his possession. The CP said the police had also identified their third accomplice who was on the run. Raids were on to arrest him, he added.

According to sources in the Police Department, methaqualone is a powerful sedative that is widely used and has a high potential of causing addiction. Its commercial quantity is 500 gm. It is sold at Rs 5,000 per gram in metro cities. It is a very popular drug in the UK, the USA and South Africa. Earlier also, instances of its trafficking through the India-Pakistan border were reported, but this time, the drug was smuggled from the Rajasthan side.

Two separate FIRs were registered against the arrested suspects and further probe initiated to establish their backward and forward linkages.