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48kg heroin seizure: ₹84.78 lakh drug money recovered, 10 more held
Continuing its investigation into the seizure of 48kg heroin, the Jalandhar commissionerate police have arrested 10 more drug peddlers, officials said on Sunday
Jalandhar : Continuing its investigation into the seizure of 48kg heroin, the Jalandhar commissionerate police have arrested 10 more drug peddlers, officials said on Sunday.
Police have also recovered ₹84.78 lakh drug money and 500gm of heroin from the arrested accused.
On April 29, the Jalandhar commissionerate police recovered 48kg heroin and arrested three members of a family linked with an international syndicate.
The police then confiscated ₹21 lakh drug money, a cash-counting machine and three vehicles from the accused.
Those involved in the racket were identified as Satnam Singh, her daughter Aman Rozi and son-in-law Hardeep Singh. Police said the syndicate’s tentacles are spread across Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan and Canada. The gang has well-oiled network in Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, besides Punjab, the police said.
The recovered 48kg heroin was allegedly smuggled via the Gujarat sea route and the J&K land route. Turkey-based Navpreet Singh from Beas in Amritsar is the main handler of the drug syndicate, the police said.
Jalandhar commissioner of police Swapan Sharma said investigations highlighted that the gang was being run by 10 people who have been arrested.
The accused have been identified as Parminder Kaur of Lakhpur Lageri village in SBS Nagar, Rohit Kumar of Amritsar, Daljit Singh of Virka village in Jalandhar, Amarjit Sharma, Anil Kumar, Surjit Kumar of Garhshankar, Gurwinder Singh of Pandori village, Manjit Singh of Muhava village in Amritsar, Khushal of Ludhiana and Malkit Singh of Bhuse village in Tarn Taran district.
“These criminals ran the racket in a highly professional manner as Rohit Kumar, through Hardeep Singh, funneled money using hawala channels, fueling the illicit trade,” Sharma said.
“Likewise, Gurwinder Singh and Manjit Singh were in the illicit trade since 2021 and Parminder Kaur was a key player in the distribution chain as she purchased substantial quantities of heroin from Satnam Singh and Hardeep Singh and then distributed it to smugglers,” Sharma added.
Khushal Kumar, linked through his brother-in-law Vinod Kumar’s large-scale heroin operation, established a contact with Hardeep. “Daljit and Amarjit facilitated by Satnam Singh, used trucks to smuggle heroin, making three trips to Srinagar, earning ₹50,000 rupees per head per round and they smuggled 10kg, 7kg and 15kg heroin, respectively. Anil Kumar and Surjit Kumar, accompanied by Satnam Singh’s associates, undertook trips to Srinagar in an Innova SUV, smuggled the same amount of heroin on same charges per trip,” the police commissioner said.
Police have now recovered 500gm of heroin ₹84.78 lakh drug money, a Hyundai Aura car, Maruti Suzuki Baleno and a truck from the possession of the accused.
Manjit Singh, another son of Satnam Singh, was arrested with 5kg of heroin by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2023.
