Cross-border peddler held with 10 kg heroin

The police on Thursday confiscated 10 kg of heroin, besides two mobile phones, from a drug peddler on the outskirts of Kakkar village falling under Lopoke police station.

The accused, identified as Davinder Singh, a resident of Manawala, was travelling in an SUV when he was intercepted by the police following a tip-off.

IG (Border Range) SPS Parmar and SSP (Amritsar rural) Vikram Jeet Duggal said the seizure was made from across the border fence following the interrogation of Davinder Singh. Though there was no previous record of drug smuggling against him, the police revealed that he and his several accomplices were involved in cross-border peddling.

“Davinder and his accomplices had been in contact with Pakistan-based smugglers to receive the drug consignment from across the border fence,” said the IG. Further investigations were underway to unearth the nexus and raids were on to arrest his accomplices, he added.

A case under Sections 21, 22, 29, 61, 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Sections 3, 34, 20 of the Indian Passport Act added with Section 14 of the Foreigners Act has been registered.

Duggal said preliminary investigations revealed that he used to hire some peasants or farm laborers who used to cross the barbed fence and use their tractors or JCBs for tilling land. They used to sneak in drugs after concealing these in their vehicles.

He said more arrests were likely to be made during the course of investigations, as the police were probing national and international links of the suspect.

He added that in the past 11 months, the rural police had confiscated more than 83kg of heroin.