The 33-year-old’s interrogation is likely to reveal details of a cross border network led by his cousin Navpreet Singh alias Nav, whose last known location was Turkey.
Before he was brought back to India, 10 people, including an Afghan national, were arrested in the case. On Wednesday, the Patiala House Court granted 12-day custody of Prabhdeep to the Delhi Police.
The police will now focus on evidence collection. “There are chances that he may have destroyed the evidence. We will look into that, and how the network functioned. A detailed interrogation of the accused will be done,” a Special Cell officer told ThePrint.
The case origin
In 2021, the Special Cell received information that Rizwan Ahmed alias Rizwan Kashmiri was involved in peddling drugs in Delhi and other states such as Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. On 5 July, a tip-off was received that Rizwan would be delivering contraband in south Delhi’s Ghitorni area.
Rizwan was arrested with a packet of heroin weighing 1 kilo. A case was registered at the Special Cell police station. The drug peddler told interrogators that he worked under Afghan national Isha Khan, who was based in Afghanistan.
Rizwan was instructed to contact Gurpreet and Gurjot Singh, both residents of Punjab, who were operating a drug racket from Faridabad, Haryana, the police said. Following his inputs, a raid was carried out on the hideouts of Gurpreet and Gurjot in Faridabad leading to their arrest.
The Special Cell achieved further success as it seized 166 kg of heroin from a Hyundai Verna car and 115 kg from a Honda Amaze car. In addition, the police seized 70 kg of psychotropic substance/heroin from the rented accommodation of Gurpreet and Gurjot.
This was followed by the arrest of an Afghan national, identified as Hazrat Ali, from Gurugram. Ali’s arrest led to the confiscation of 2 kg of contraband/heroin and about 100 kg of chemicals used for its preparation.
Investigation revealed that Gurpreet met Navpreet in Punjab’s Kapurthala jail, where they were lodged for their involvement in different narcotic cases.
Easy route to quick money
Police sources said that Prabhdeep joined the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2013. He has been posted in various locations including Delhi, and for VIP security. His last posting was in Jammu.
“The primary motive for Prabhdeep was easy money. His cousin Navpreet Singh, too, had been involved in drug smuggling,” the police officer said.
When the police began investigating the mobile phones of those arrested in the case, an iCloud ID was identified. The ID was created with the name ‘Harry’, which, the police said, was Prabhdeep’s pseudonym. All instructions given to the 10 arrested men were routed through this ID.
“Like many other criminals, Prabhdeep thought of going to Azerbaijan, because it is easy to secure a visa. There’s a direct flight. It comes under Eurasia, and the country provides an easy route into Europe. Once somebody slips in, it becomes difficult to track,” the officer explained.
Prabhdeep was tasked to handle Navpreet’s drug syndicate and was instrumental in passing his instructions to Gurpreet and Gurjot, the police said. “He used to monitor the movement of narco consignments. He maintained contact with other associates of Navpreet,” the police officer said.
The police said Prabhdeep facilitated the illicit drug trade until the entire network was busted by the Special Cell in 2021. He then went into hiding in Dubai. But his luck ran out as he was arrested in Azerbaijan before being deported to India.
The long road to extradition
Sources in the Special Cell said that Prabhdeep fled India when he got wind of the police tracking him in connection with the narcotics case.
“In Dubai, he was with his cousin/brother, who had been working a ‘Dunki’ route business, facilitating entry of Indians into foreign countries. He managed to find a hideout. Soon, we got a tip-off that he was in Dubai,” said the officer, who was part of the team that tracked him.
The police then began reaching out to their Dubai channels for his deportation.
“Prabhdeep felt insecure. He knew the police would get to him. So, he fled to Azerbaijan. His initial plan was to somehow enter Europe and then the US to escape arrest,” the officer said.
In 2023, a Red Corner Notice was issued against Prabhdeep. He was detained in transit in Baku and was subsequently imprisoned in July that year. “Ever since his imprisonment, the police have been fighting a legal battle to extradite him,” the officer said..
On 13 May, the CBI, in a statement, said that it has secured extradition of Prabhdeep from Azerbaijan. “The subject was wanted in connection with a case registered at Special Cell police station, New Delhi,” the statement added
The CBI got a Red Corner Notice against the accused through Interpol channels on the request of the Delhi Police. A three-member police team brought Prabhdeep to India.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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