E-Paper
ANTF seizes 12kg heroin, arrests student in Pakistan-linked smuggling network
Anti-Narcotics Task Force used digital trail to arrest first-time offender, who retrieved border contraband using GPS coordinates provided by Pakistan-based handler.
Ferozepur: The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Ferozepur range, busted a key link in an international heroin smuggling syndicate by seizing 12kg of heroin and arresting an alleged second-line courier.
The accused, Jagsir Singh, alias Lavi, a resident of Badal Ke Uttar village in Fazilka district, was arrested on Wednesday under Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
According to Gurinderbir Singh, superintendent of police, ANTF, Ferozepur, the accused is a student and a first-time offender with no previous criminal record. During interrogation, he allegedly admitted to working as a second-line courier who did not directly receive narcotics dropped by drones from across the border, but instead collected consignments from intermediate couriers to facilitate onward transportation and supply.
Preliminary investigations revealed a well-organised, technology-driven smuggling network operating across the Indo-Pak border.
Police said the accused retrieved the heroin consignment from a pre-designated drop point in Rao Ke village after receiving precise GPS coordinates from a Pakistan-based handler identified by the alias Chacha, who is believed to be operating from the Kasur region.
The handler coordinated the entire operation using encrypted WhatsApp communication.
Investigators found that the contraband was slated for delivery to a local receiver operating via an Australian virtual WhatsApp number, highlighting the trafficking network’s international reach.
Police have seized mobile phones and other digital evidence from the accused for forensic examination to map out both backward and forward linkages of the syndicate, as further investigation remains underway to identify other individuals involved.
