Fazilka-based drug smugglers’ associate nabbed at Raj village
An associate of some Fazilka-based suspected drug smugglers has been arrested for procuring heroin in the Sriganganagar sector through drone from Pakistan.
Sriganganagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Yadav said Gurmej Singh (36) had been arrested in the Hindumalkot area. The arrest was made in a case registered against unidentified persons under Sections 10 and 11 of the Aircraft Act, 1934, at the Hindumalkot police station on Thursday. The SP said Gurmej Singh had established links with Pakistani smugglers and used to smuggle heroin across the Indian border in connivance with some Punjab-based smugglers.
On October 18, a drone was found in a field adjacent to a branch of Gang Canal near Dullapur Keri village in the Hindumalkot police station area. The farmer who came to work at the field saw the drone lying and informed the Border Security Force (BSF) about it.
The BSF seized the drone and sent it to the Jodhpur-headquartered Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. It was found that the drone had flown four times from Pakistan into the Indian territory in the same area on the intervening night of October 16 and 17.
A case was registered against unidentified persons under the Aircraft Act the next day. During the investigation, the police learnt about the suspicious activities of Gurmej, following which he was arrested. According to sources, Gurmej revealed that on the intervening night of October 16 and 17, 4-5 people, who came from Fazilka district, carried four packets of heroin. The drone dropped half a kg of heroin in each round. After dropping the package in the fourth round, the drone fell in the field due to a battery-related problem.
It was learnt that equipped with a Mavic-3 model sensor and camera, the drone has a carrying capacity of only half a kg of pack, but it is capable of flying very high and long. This type of drone can fly at an altitude of 6,000 m for nearly 30 km. After interrogaton, the police identified four persons.
