CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has busted an international drug trafficking syndicate that used jackets to smuggle heroin into the State with the arrest of its two operatives. Three half-sleeve jackets stashed with 500 grammes of heroin in each from their possession have been recovered. These drug consignments were bought from an Afghan national based in Delhi.Punjab Director General of Police, Gaurav Yadav, said today that they were arrested have been identified as Sukhdeep Singh alias Raja, a resident of Bhana in Faridkot and Krishan, a resident of Ajaib in Rohtak.Apart from recovering 1.5 kg of heroin, police teams have also impounded their white Hyundai Aura (HR 12 AT 7091) that was used to smuggle narcotics in the guise of a taxi.Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that these drug consignments were bought from an Afghan national based in Delhi, exposing their network with international drug cartels and their tactics of hiding heroin in jackets to evade detection.He said that during the initial interrogation, the accused have disclosed that they had smuggled four consignments of heroin in connivance with Kotkapura-based notorious drug smuggler identified as Lakhwinder Singh in the last two months, and the recent 10 kilogrammes of heroin were bought in mid-September and was delivered in Moga.Facing at least 10 cases under NDPS Act, the accused Lakhwinder Singh is said to be the key person of this module, managing the entire drug network.He said that police teams are on a manhunt to nab absconding Lakhwinder Singh. Further investigations are on to establish backward and forward linkages in this case, he added.Sharing operation details, DIG Ropar Range Nilambari Jagdale said that a reliable input was received that two members of a drug syndicate in possession of heroin were coming from Delhi towards Mohali in a white Hyundai Aura. “Acting swiftly, police teams laid a special Naka near Dappar toll plaza in Lalru and successfully intercepted the vehicle, leading to the arrests and recovery of narcotics,” she said.Senior Superintendent of Police of SAS Nagar, Deepak Pareek, said that arrested accused Sukhdeep also had a criminal past with a kidnapping case registered against him in 2020.”Since coming out on bail from Faridkot Jail in May 2024, he started indulging in this heroin smuggling network in July 2024,” he added.He also said that the arrested accused had also rented accommodation in Sohana, SAS Nagar, to facilitate their drug smuggling operations. A case has been registered under sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act at police station Lalru in SAS Nagar.
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