Three held with 25 kg heroin in Amritsar; probe into cross-border smuggling on

Chandigarh, Jul 7 (PTI) Punjab Police's Counter Intelligence (CI) unit in Amritsar has arrested three alleged drug smugglers and recovered 25 kg of heroin from their possession, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday. The accused were identified as Bhupinder Singh of Jandaur village in Hoshiarpur, Ravi Kumar of Kirpal Colony in Dasuya, Hoshiarpur, and Vishal Singh of Fatehpur in Amritsar. Police also impounded a car allegedly used for transporting narcotics. According to the DGP, preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were working on the directions of a cross-border smuggler and were involved in collecting heroin consignments from different locations for distribution across Punjab. Acting on specific intelligence, Counter Intelligence teams set up a checkpoint near Dana Mandi at Gill village on Mehta Road in Amritsar, where the three accused were intercepted. During the operation, police recovered 8 kg of heroin from Vishal Singh and 17 kg from Bhupinder Singh and Ravi Kumar, taking the total seizure to 25 kg. The DGP said investigations are underway to trace both the forward and backward linkages of the smuggling network, identify other associates involved, and dismantle the entire supply chain. The latest seizure comes a day after Counter Intelligence Amritsar arrested three persons linked to two separate narcotics smuggling networks and recovered 13 kg of heroin. A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act at the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) police station in Amritsar. PTI VSD NB NB