Drug racket busted in Amritsar: Nigerian national, two aides held with pistol, 112 gm cocaine
Two FIRs have been registered against the accused. The first FIR under Sections 21-8, 21-C, 29/61/85 of the NDPS Act and 25/54/59 of Arms Act have been registered at police station cantonment, Amritsar, while another FIR was registered under Sections 21, 21-B, 21-C, 29/61/85 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Sadar, Amritsar.
A Nigerian national identified as Collins and two local aides, part of a drug racket, have been arrested with 112 gm of cocaine, Amritsar police said on Tuesday.
Collins, who was currently residing in Delhi and his two local distributors identified as Ishpreet Singh alias Harsh and Akhilesh Vij, residents of Basant Avenue locality were arrested with narcotics and one pistol of .32-bore, commissioner of police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said.
“The cartel operated primarily through WhatsApp. Collins, the key supplier, sourced the narcotic substances and distributed them through his local contacts in north India. Akhilesh either received consignments directly from Collins or travelled to procure them and sell it directly to customers”, Bhullar said while addressing a press conference.
“The network targeted affluent circles and sold cocaine. Collins came to India in 2023 for the medical treatment of his son. After his son returned to Nigeria post-treatment, Collins remained in India illegally, without valid documentation. He has since been involved in drug trafficking activities, operating primarily from Delhi,” Bhullar added,
Two FIRs have been registered against the accused. The first FIR under Sections 21-8, 21-C, 29/61/85 of the NDPS Act and 25/54/59 of Arms Act have been registered at police station cantonment, Amritsar, while another FIR was registered under Sections 21, 21-B, 21-C, 29/61/85 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Sadar, Amritsar.
3 held with 1kg heroin, drug money
In another incident, the police busted a drug and hawala cartel with the arrest of three persons and seized 1kg of heroin and ₹8 lakh hawala money from their possession.
The arrested accused have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Dhulka village in Amritsar district, Ravi Kumar of Dadupur road in Amritsar and Sham Singh, a resident of Kathunangal road.
“Ravi had cross-border links with Pakistani smugglers and along with Sham Singh procured heroin from designated pickup locations shared by them, Bhullar said, adding: “Drug money was routed through a hawala network operated by Gurpreet, who runs a meat cart in his village. He used a token system to collect hawala money.”
“Cash amounting to ₹8.10 lakh was recovered from Gurpreet. This hawala money was routed back to Pakistan via Dubai, indicating sophisticated international financial links,” Bhullar added.
Smuggler hurt in encounter, held
AMRITSAR: A smuggler was injured during an encounter with Amritsar rural police near the Attari-Wagah international border on Tuesday, officials said.
“The police recovered 534 gms of heroin and a PX-5 pistol along with two cartridges from the possession of the accused identified as Harpreet Singh alias Happy,” SSP Maninder Singh said.
The SSP said Happy was wanted in a case of recovery of 5kg heroin on June 11.
“During a checking operation at Neshta, when the Gharinda Police tried to stop Happy and his accomplice riding a motorcycle on June 11, they opened fire at the police party and fled. In the firing, a passerby named Gurjeet Singh alias Billa, a resident of Rasulpur in Tarn Taran district was hit and died,” the SSP said.
“During this, a bag containing 5kg of heroin fell from the bike and a case was registered against the accused at Gharinda police station, and further investigation was initiated, besides launching a hunt to nab the accused”, he said.
On Tuesday, Gharinda police received information that Happy was hiding in the Defence drain area of Attari. “Acting swiftly, the officer in charge of Gharinda police station, along with his team, tracked the accused. The accused again opened fire at the police party and was injured in retaliatory firing. Happy was shot in the leg and captured. A PX-5 pistol and two live cartridges were recovered from him at the time of arrest,” the SSP added.
The SSP said that efforts are ongoing to trace the other accomplices of Happy.
