Balwinder ‘smuggled’ 100-kg contraband in a year: STF probe

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, July 26

Balwinder Singh, the prime suspect of the drug module busted by the Special Task Force (STF), had smuggled around 100-kg contraband received from across the Indo-Pak border in the last one and a half years.

This came to light during a weeklong investigations carried out by the STF in the case.

The STF had arrested Balwinder Singh, a resident of Chak Allah Baksh village located just close to the International Border fence on Monday. Currently, he was residing in Baba Deep Singh Colony in Chheharta area. He was remanded in three-day police custody for further interrogation. Besides Balwinder, the STF had arrested Avtar Singh and Guravtar Singh who were sent to judicial custody by a court.

According to STF officials, Balwinder Singh was the right hand of another cross-border drug peddler Surmukh Singh. Surmukh was arrested by the police in January this year in connection with smuggling of improvised explosive devices, one of which was used in the Ludhiana bomb blast.

In this IED and drug module, the police had arrested 10 persons in the past six months. Apart from Balwinder, Avtar, Guravtar and Surmukh Singh, the police had nabbed Harpreet Singh Happy of Dhanoe Kalan village, Sawinder Singh of Dhanoe Khurd village, Dilbagh Singh, alias Baggo, of Chak Allah Baksh village, Gurpreet Singh of Miadi Kalan village, Rinku Kumar of Gumtala and a juvenile. A case under various sections of the NDPS Act, Arms Act, Explosives Act, UPA Act at the STF, Mohali.

Investigations revealed that taking the advantage of the location of their native village near the border, the accused was involved in the cross-border smuggling for the last two years. They were using drones and sending locations through phones using a SIM of Pakistani telecoms companies whose signals are strong in the border villages. “They used to send the location of a cremation ground in their village to their Pakistan-based accomplices. They received heroin there with the help of a drone, which flew back after dropping the narcotics,” said an official privy to investigations.

Used drones, Pak SIMs to send locations

Investigations revealed suspects were using drones and sending locations through phones using SIMs of Pakistani telecom companies whose signals were strong in the border villages