E-Paper
532-KG HEROIN HAUL: NIA gets custody of kingpin Cheetah till May 29
Rana, who has links with Hizbul Mujahideen and was involved in terror funding, had smuggled heroin and other drugs from Pakistan concealed in rock salt consignments
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday secured the custody of Ranjeet Rana, alias Cheetah, kingpin of the 532-kg heroin haul from Attari in June last year.
Rana was produced before the special NIA court, Mohali, through video conferencing and was remanded in central agency’s custody till May 29.
Rana was arrested on May 9 in a joint operation by NIA, Punjab Police and their Haryana counterpart from a hideout at Begu village in Sirsa district of Haryana.
Rana, who has links with Hizbul Mujahideen and was involved in terror funding, had smuggled heroin and other drugs from Pakistan concealed in rock salt consignments through the integrated check-post (ICP) at the Attari border, 30 km from Amritsar.
NIA had already filed a chargesheet in December last year, against all the 11 accused in the case, including six absconders, to prosecute them for narco-terrorism.
The challan had said, “This is a case of narco-terrorism, having national and international implications with evidence of generation of funds through the proceeds of sale of narcotics smuggled from across the international border.”
The court had granted bail to salt trader Ajay Gupta.
Another accused Gurpinder Singh, 29, who owned Kanishk Enterprises — an import-export firm in Amritsar — died under mysterious circumstances in judicial custody on July 21 last year after which NIA had taken over the investigations.
