Cross-border racket busted: Over 2kg heroin, arms seized, kingpin among 12 held

Police recovered 2.19 kg heroin, three sophisticated pistols, including two automatic ones, and ₹2.6 lakh drug money from their possession

The Amritsar commissionerate police busted a cross-border drugs and weapons smuggling cartel and arrested 12 individuals, including the kingpin, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Friday.

Punjab DGP said accused Manjeet, who is a key player, was in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers/handlers and was receiving consignments of drugs and weapons from across the border. (HT Photo)

He identified the key accused as Manjeet Singh, alias Bhola, from Jhanjoti village in Ajnala.

The other accused were identified as Aniket Verma, Jobanpreet Singh alias Joban, Babli, Amritpal Singh alias Ansh, Reshma, Akashdeep Singh alias Arsh, all from Chheharta; Mandeep Singh alias Kaushal alias Joshi, Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, and Lovepreet Singh alias Jashan, all three from Amritsar’s Fatehpur village; Harpreet Singh alias Happy from Guru Ki Wadali; Harshpreet Singh alias Harman alias Hamma from Thanda village in Amritsar.

Police recovered 2.19 kg heroin, three sophisticated pistols, including two automatic ones, and ₹2.6 lakh drug money from their possession. The accused’s Toyota Fortuner car was impounded.

DGP Yadav said accused Manjeet was in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers/handlers and was receiving consignments of drugs and weapons from across the border.

The probe revealed consignments were being dropped at Ramdas and Ajnala border sectors with the help of drones, he added.

The DGP said that investigations are ongoing to establish forward and backward linkages of the accused.

Divulging details about the operation during a press conference, Amritsar police commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said accused Aniket was nabbed following information that he was involved in drug smuggling business. He said Aniket’s arrest led to unearthing of the network and the subsequent arrests.

Bhullar added that five of the accused were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir with the help of local police there.

The commissioner said the investigators found that the kingpin, Manjeet, was using the house of accused Babli, who is an anganwadi worker, to store the consignments.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Chheharta police station in Amritsar on December 24, 2024, officials said.