43 women arrested for heroin smuggling in Ludhiana range in over four years
Nikhil Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 30
The drug smuggling trade, which used to attract mostly men, has now caught the attention of women folk too. As per the data collected from the Special Task Force (STF), Ludhiana range, women smugglers have entered this notorious trade from the past few years.
Heroin smuggling lures women smugglers the most, followed by opium, poppy husk, smack, charas and other narcotic substances.
From March 2017 onwards the STF, Ludhiana range, has registered 37 cases of drug smuggling and arrested 43 women smugglers during four and a half years.
Major drug recoveries
- In March 2017, Sarabjit Kaur of Sidhwan Bet, along with her aides, was arrested by the STF with 8-kg heroin, Creta car and Swift car.
- In November 2018, Jamila Begum, along with her husband, A resident of J&K, was arrested with 10.25-kg heroin.
- In May 2019, Poonam Rani and Payal of Shimlapuri were arrested with 2.2-kg heroin and Rs2 lakh drug money.
- In July 2019, Siso, Sona and Toshi were held with 15-kg poppy husk.
- In June 2020, Anjali of Kapurthala, Harpreet Kaur and Pooja Kundan of Phullanwal were arrested, along with their aides, with 3.2-kg heroin.
- In December 2020, Sita Devi of Daduwal village was held with 405- gm heroin.
- In April 2021, Mandeep Kaur and Jaswinder Kaur of Tarn Taran were arrested with
- 1-kg heroin.
- In August 2021, Daljit Kaur Babli of Haibowal, along with a cop and another person, was held with 350-kg poppy husk.
From these women drug smugglers, the STF recovered 37.38 kg of heroin, 11.5 kg of opium, 460 kg of poppy husk, 160 gm of smack, 10 gm of charas and Rs24.52 lakh drug money.
The STF Ludhiana in-charge, Inspector Harbans Singh, told The Tribune that most women smugglers during their interrogation confessed that they entered into this notorious trade to get rich in a short span of time.
“Women wanted to earn easy money and got entangled into this illegal profession without predicting the consequences. Many women peddlers have regretted after the STF caught them with drugs,” Inspector added. “Most women caught by the STF are involved in heroin smuggling. Reason could be high profit,” said Inspector.
“Some women enter this trade just to assist their husbands or friends, but they cannot leave it,” Inspector added.
Shortage of women cops
A senior police official requesting anonymity said, “Women are entering smuggling as they hardly come under suspicion at routine police nakas and benefit from this. You will never see any women cops at any police naka. Male cops cannot frisk women.”
“Women mostly hide drug in their undergarments. A male cop cannot frisk such suspected women. So, they always go scot-free,” he added. He suggested laying of nakas manned by policewomen to frisk women involved in illegal profession.
