Chandigarh, Sep 15 (PTI) Punjab Police on Tuesday said it has dismantled three major drug and illegal arms supply networks in Amritsar with the arrest of eight individuals and recovery of 9.549 kg of heroin, 5.459 kg of opium and one pistol from their possession.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said those arrested have been identified as Rajinder Singh (27), Vinay (26), Pradeep Singh (37), Karan Singh alias Karan (24), Navneet alias Keeda (18), Jashandeep Singh alias Dhuni (19), Baljinder Singh (37), and Amrit Pal Singh alias Amrit (25), all residents of Amritsar.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based smugglers and were receiving consignments of heroin, opium and illegal arms through drones for further distribution, he said.
Police have also established links between the accused and other associates involved in the supply network, he said.
Further investigation is underway to identify others involved and dismantle the wider drug and illegal arms trafficking network, the DGP said.
Sharing details of the first operation, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, Harmanbir Singh Gill said that, acting on specific information, police arrested Rajinder Singh and a .30 bore pistol was recovered.
During interrogation, his associate Vinay was arrested, leading to the recovery of 4.2 kg of opium, he said. On the disclosure of Vinay, another associate, Pradeep Singh, was arrested and 1.2kg more opium was recovered from his possession, he said.
He stated that Rs 62 lakh belonging to accused Pardeep Singh and his wife has been frozen in their bank accounts.
In a separate operation, the commissioner said one Karan Singh was arrested, and 7 kg of heroin was recovered from his possession. During further investigation, his associates Navneet Singh alias Keeda and Jashandeep Singh alias Dhunni were also arrested, he said.
In a third operation, Gill said police arrested Baljinder Singh and Amritpal Singh alias Amrit and recovered 2.5 kg of heroin and one motorcycle from their possession. Further investigation is ongoing, he added. PTI CHS RHL
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