Chandigarh: Amid the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and drug-free state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar has busted a cross-border narcotics smuggling module being operated by foreign-based handler Harpal Singh and arrested one of its operative after recovering 5 kg heroin from his possession, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Saturday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Pawandeep Singh, a resident of Beharwal in Amritsar. DGP Yadav said that during questioning, the arrested accused Pawandeep has revealed that he was working under the directions of his foreign-based handler Harpal Singh, a native of Kohala village in Amritsar, and currently living in the US.
The latter is directly in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers and arranged several consignments of narcotics and weapon from across the border with the help of drones, he said.
He said further investigations have revealed that Harpal Singh, who migrated to the US about two years ago, appears to have initially had a clean record but may have later become involved in the drug smuggling trade after settling abroad.
Sharing operation details, the DGP said that the CI Amritsar had received specific intelligence about retrieval of narcotics consignments from Indo-Pakistan border area falling near Dhanoe Kalan village in Amritsar. Acting swiftly, police team intercepted the suspect Pawandeep Singh from near Beharwal village in Amritsar, when he was going to further deliver the consignment to some party and recovered narcotics from his possession, he said. (IANS)
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