The Nurpur district police busted an interstate drug trafficking racket and arrested an alleged kingpin from Punjab with 264.6 gm of heroin, giving a setback to local drug peddlers operating in the interstate border area.
The recovery was made by the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) wing of the district police during a naka near Milwan under the Indora police station area on Thursday evening.
Acting on a specific tip-off, the CIA intercepted a car (PB-06W-4003) coming from Punjab near the railway crossing of the Ulherian-Milwan road. During a search of the vehicle, police recovered 264.6 gm of heroin hidden in the steering wheel.
The accused has been identified as Jatinder Singh (41), a resident of Bhartwal village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. He was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, while the car used for transporting the contraband was impounded.
Superintendent of Police Kulbhushan Verma told The Tribune that the accused was a kingpin in an interstate drug racket active along the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border.
“The accused is being produced before the court to seek police remand so that his drug network and financial transactions can be investigated,” Verma said.
He added that preliminary investigation revealed that Jatinder Singh had allegedly been involved in drug trafficking activities in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Three cases under the NDPS Act had already been registered against him in these states.
Meanwhile, the CIA team arrested three alleged drug peddlers near the interstate Chakki bridge on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway (NH-154) at Kandwal during night patrolling.
Acting on another tip-off, police intercepted the trio and recovered 25.65 gm of heroin from their possession.
The accused were identified as Arjiner Singh (42) of Praja Katra in Amritsar, Ajay Kumar (28) of Thathiara Wala village in Amritsar district, and Arvinder Kaur (21) of Baltoha Jodh Singh Wala village in Tarn Taran district.
An FIR has been registered against them under Sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act. Further investigation is under way.
