Amritsar: 2 drug cartels with Pakistan link busted, 9.2 kg heroin seized

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, June 28

The Punjab Police today claimed to have busted two cross-border drug cartels operating from border belt here and confiscated 9.2 kg heroin while apprehending three persons.

Drones used to drop drugs at suspect’s house

• According to police sources, Amandeep’s residence was located close to the International Border fencing and drones used to drop the contraband at his house
• Amandeep was also an accused in a murder case. In 2012, he was arrested but was released on parole after five years. Since then he has been evading arrest
• Police sources said Amandeep had accumulated a large number of properties using money made from illegal drug trade

Those arrested were identified as Bachitar Singh of Jathaul village in Amritsar, Sunny of Guru ki Wadali in Chheharta and Amandeep Singh of Ranian village.

During investigations, the police also identified a hawala link involving cash transactions with Pakistan-based smugglers.

Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon said two drug cartels were being operated by Pakistan-based smugglers and the contraband was smuggled through a drone.

He said following specific inputs, police teams under the supervision of Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (City-2) Abhimanyu Rana nabbed two suspects from Shiva Enclave in the Rajasansi area and seized 8.2 kg heroin from their possession.

Apart from the contraband, the police also seized Rs 95,000 drug money and an electronic weighing scale from them, besides impounding a Swift car.

Bachitar Singh has been a proclaimed offender (PO) since 2021 in a murder case registered at the Gharinda police station. He along with 13 others had allegedly killed a brother of notorious drug peddler Kalu Jathaul over a land dispute at Jathaul village in 2020. Sunny was facing two cases under the NDPS Act and was declared a PO in both.

In another seizure, the Ranjit Avenue police confiscated 1 kg heroin from Amandeep Singh of Ranian village. The police also impounded the car in which he was travelling.

Financial investigations had been initiated in both cases to freeze the properties of the three.

The Police Commissioner said further investigations into backward and forward linkages were in progress to unearth the network of drug suppliers, dealers and buyers in both cases. Efforts were being made to ascertain the total amount of narcotics procured by the arrested suspects so far, the CP added.