Former contract driver with Ferozepur Civil Surgeon’s office held with over 5 kg heroin

The Amritsar city police commissionerate nabbed a man with 5.1 kg of heroin who was allegedly part of the cross-border drug cartel here on Monday.

Gurvir Singh (32), alias Gora, a resident of Basti Mohammad Shah Wali under the Mamdot police station, had worked as a contract driver with the Civil Surgeon’s office in Ferozepur. He remained absent from his duty and was therefore terminated from job on July 31 last year.

He had picked up the contraband from Amritsar rural belt and was arrested from the Loharaka road here. A case under sections of the NDPS Act was registered with the Cantonment police station in this connection.

Sharing information, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said he was travelling in an SUV when he was intercepted by the police after acting on a tip-off. He said he had worked under the National Health Mission in the Civil Surgeon’s office in Ferozepur. He said he has been active in illegal drug trade for the last three months and has made several rounds of the holy city for smuggling of contraband.

He said he along with his another accomplice, who has been identified, used to pick up narcotics from near the Indo-Pak border on the instructions of his Pakistan-based handlers. “Though Ferozepur district was itself a border district, he chose the Amritsar border belt for smuggling to avoid any exposure there,” said the Police Commissioner.

The police got a specific input that he was roaming in Amritsar area for collecting drug consignment in Amritsar following which a checkpoint was laid on the Loharaka road. He said though he was a driver, he owned an SUV. He said further probe was in progress to expose his backward and forward links and arrest his accomplices.

The Police Commissioner said the accused was into drug smuggling for the last five to six months and had delivered at least three consignments.