Probe reveals accused supplied 700kg heroin in state in 3 years
Were active since 2017 and heroin consignments — offloaded in Gujarat from Pak via sea route — were transported to Amritsar; drugs seized on Jan 31 were part of another delivery
AMRITSAR: Investigations by the Punjab Police’s anti-drug special task force (STF) have revealed that key members of the drug racket, which was busted in Amritsar on January 31, had smuggled 700kg of heroin in the past three years.
STF officials say members of the drug racket were active since 2017 and multiple consignments of heroin were transported to Amritsar in trucks from Gujarat. The consignments were smuggled from Pakistan through sea route, said STF officials.
The STF had on January 31 recovered 194 kg heroin from a house in the Sultanwind area of Amritsar. The operation was carried out on the disclosure of one Sukhbir Singh, alias Happy, who was arrested with 6kg heroin in Mohali. After raiding the house, police arrested five other accused — Ankush Kapoor of Queens Road, Amritsar, a local linchpin of the racket, Arman Basharmal of Afghanistan,
Sukhwinder Singh, Major Singh and Tamanna Gupta of Amritsar. The Afghan national was called to Amritsar for “refining and increasing” the volume of the heroin by using chemicals.
Suspected 38.2kg of dextromethorphan powder, 25.9kg of caffeine powder and six drums of chemicals were recovered from the house, which had a laboratory.
As the probe progressed, the police arrested Punjabi movie actor Mantej Mann, a Gujaratbased transporter Indiresh Kumar, Kuldeep Singh from Tarn Taran, Malkiat Singh from Patiala, and two money changers Harneet Singh and Gagandeep from Amritsar.
A senior STF official privy to the investigation said: “Investigation has revealed that the accused had been running the racket from Amritsar since 2017. The key members — Ankush, Sukhwinder, Major, Happy, Mantej, Kuldeep and Malkiat — had already supplied 700kg of heroin in Punjab. The recovered 194kg heroin was a part of a separate 200kg consignment which was transported from Gujarat a few months ago.”
He said Mantej had cleared three big consignments in Punjab. Earlier, STF’s inspector general (IG) Kaushtubh Sharma had said Kuldeep and Malkiat cleared five to six consignments of heroin.
Gujarat Police’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) joined the STF’s investigation on February 4. The ATS had been looking for Simranjit Singh Sandhu, a resident of Ranjeet Avenue in Amritsar and a proclaimed offender. He is believed to be the kingpin of the racket. Sandhu was also wanted by the ATS in the smuggling of 300kg heroin, which was offloaded in Mandavi, Gujarat, before being transported to Punjab with cumin in trucks in 2018.
“The 300kg heroin offloaded in Mandavi was also part of the 700kg heroin smuggled in Punjab,” said the STF official.
Sandhu was arrested recently in Italy on the basis of a red-corner notice issued by Interpol on request of Gujarat ATS.
Another senior official of the STF said: “The ATS has written to the Union home ministry for Sandhu’s extradition. He will soon be deported from Italy. We will bring him on production warrant from Gujarat.”
According to the STF, Sandhu, an Australian passport holder, was running the racket in Amritsar with the help of Ankush Kapoor.
STF IGP Kaushtubh Sharma said: “Recently, the Gujarat ATS arrested three persons who have confessed that they had smuggled 200kg heroin to Punjab. We will bring them on production warrant for making it clear whether the 200kg consignment was the same which we recovered from Sultanwind.”