Ludhiana: Police crack down on drug hotspots in Sahnewal, 42 rounded up

Commissioner of police, Ludhiana, Swapan Sharma said the crackdown was being carried out under the Punjab government’s ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign and that police were adopting a zero-tolerance approach towards drug networks

The police launched a major cordon and search operation (CASO) on Wednesday at identified drug hotspots at Jaspal Bangar and Hero Suman Nagar under Sahnewal police station. The operation was jointly led by DCP Rural Gursewak Singh and DCP investigation Harpal Singh, along with senior officers, Crime Wing teams and SHOs of Zone-2 police stations.

Commissioner of police Swapan Sharma said the crackdown was being carried out under the Punjab government’s ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign. (HT photo)

Police said 42 suspects were rounded up for verification during the operation. Fresh recoveries were made and cases were being registered against eight persons at different police stations.

Commissioner of police, Ludhiana, Swapan Sharma said the crackdown was being carried out under the Punjab government’s ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign and that police were adopting a zero-tolerance approach towards drug networks.

He said the focus was not limited to street-level suppliers and that police were working to identify the entire chain, including interstate suppliers and local distribution networks.

Police said all arrested accused had been produced before the court and police remand was being sought for detailed interrogation. Investigators are also tracing financial transactions linked to suspected drug proceeds and examining possibilities of freezing assets allegedly acquired through illegal earnings. Further raids and follow-up investigations are underway to trace the sources of the contraband in other states and identify other members of the alleged networks.

The coordinated operations included intelligence-based raids and CASO at suspected drug hotspots across the city. Police also seized a Maruti Suzuki Baleno, five electronic weighing scales and 80 packaging bags, officials said.

In one of the major operations, a Crime Branch team led by inspector Navdeep Singh intercepted an alleged drug distributor in the Jamalpur area and recovered 16 kg of opium, a Maruti Suzuki Baleno car and an electronic weighing scale.

The accused was identified as Kunal Sharma alias Munna. A case was registered at Jamalpur police station under Sections 18, 25 and 61-85 of the NDPS Act.

In another operation, the Special Cell, led by Inspector Harpreet Singh Dehal, recovered 3.134 kg of heroin, ₹1.05 lakh in suspected drug money, four electronic weighing scales and 80 packaging polybags from the Shimlapuri area.

A case was registered at the Shimlapuri police station under Section 21-C of the NDPS Act.