Chandigarh, Apr 19 (PTI) Punjab Police on Saturday said it has busted a narco-hawala racket with the arrest of five persons and recovered over Rs 46 lakh cash.

The racket was being operated by US-based drug smuggler Joban Kaler and gangster Gopi Chougawan, police said.

Sharing details, police said they arrested Satnam Singh alias Sandhu, a resident of Amritsar on April 9 with 1 kilograms of heroin.

Following his questioning, three more persons — Rajanjot Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Anil Saini were arrested, said Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.

Further investigation led to the arrest of two other associates, Navjot Singh and Harmit Singh, based on disclosures by Gurpreet Singh.

Investigation revealed that Anil Saini, Navjot Singh, and Harmit Singh were found to be in contact with Kaler and Chougawan.

Saini was allegedly running a hawala network under the cover of a dry fruit business, Bhullar said.

Investigation revealed that the accused were transferring drug money through a hawala network in exchange for heroin consignments being supplied from across the border.

During this hawala network, the accused used to exchange money by taking a photo of Rs 10 or 20 note numbers and verifying the photo through social media apps, said Bhullar.

The police commissioner further said the investigation is underway to trace the total quantity of narcotics procured by the accused and to expose the complete network of suppliers, dealers and buyers, he said. PTI CHS HIG HIG