Chandigarh woman caught with heroin gets 15-year rigorous imprisonment

Poonam was arrested along with Sandeep on January 20, 2022 and as much as 404 gm heroin was recovered from her; the duo was arrested by the UT police’s crime cell from a naka laid near Punjab Roadways workshop in Industrial Area, Phase 1, Chandigarh

Chandigarh A local court on Monday convicted a 39-year-old woman, Poonam - a resident of Sector-40, for drug peddling and sentenced her to 15 years rigorous imprisonment (RI). Her accomplice Sandeep Khatri, 42, was sentenced 10 years.

Known as “Bhabi” in police circles, Poonam often used children as couriers and has been arrested by Chandigarh Police in multiple drug peddling cases. (iStock)

The court also imposed a fine of ₹1.5 lakh on Poonam and ₹1 lakh on Sandeep. Poonam was arrested along with Sandeep on January 20, 2022. As much as 404 gm heroin was recovered from Poonam. The duo was arrested by the UT police’s crime cell from a naka laid near Punjab Roadways workshop in Industrial Area, Phase 1, Chandigarh. The duo was travelling in Khatri’s Maruti Suzuki Swift car, bearing a Delhi registration number, and tried to flee on seeing the police. However, cops intercepted the car and recovered a total of 610 gm heroin from them.

Known as “Bhabi” in police circles, Poonam often used children as couriers and has been arrested by Chandigarh Police in multiple drug peddling cases. Her husband, Sikander, was also into drug trade and named as an accused in six cases. Her mother, Kamla, is into selling illicit liquor, while her sister Nirmala, alias Nimmo, brother Sonu and his wife, Shakti, are also drug smugglers. Her aunt Bala, 49, a resident of Sector-38, is facing seven criminal cases.