Ludhiana-based smuggler taken into 1-yr preventive custody: DGP

The accused identified as Gurdeep Singh of Raano village in Ludhiana is facing 7 drug trafficking cases

The Punjab Police’s Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) has taken another top drug smuggler identified as Gurdeep Singh alias Raano Sarpanch, a resident of Raano village in Ludhiana, under preventive custody, using special provisions under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, said director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday.

Police said that the accused was involved in trans-border drug smuggling networks with Pakistani smugglers. (HT File)

This is the second such case of preventive detention in which orders have been issued by the competent authority under Section 3 of the PIT-NDPS Act. Section 3 of the Act empowers the government to take drug smugglers into preventive custody to prevent them from engaging in illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

A month back, Punjab Police had executed the orders of preventive detention of a notorious drug smuggler identified as Avtar Singh alias Tari of Shahur Kalan Village in Gurdaspur district for two years using special provisions under the Act.

Yadav said that during the investigation, it was found that Gurdeep Singh alias Raano Sarpanch had links with international smugglers identified as Harminder Singh alias Rommy Randhawa, Rajan Sharma, Tanvir Bedi and Baljit Singh alias Babbu Khera. Accused Gurdeep Singh’s assets worth ₹7.80 crore, acquired through illicit means, have been frozen by the competent authority, he added.

He said that the accused is a repeat offender with seven cases registered under the NDPS Act. “He is involved in trans-border drug smuggling networks with Pakistani smugglers,” he added.

As per the information, STF-Ludhiana Range had registered a case against accused Gurdeep Singh and other co-accused under the NDPS Act in October 2020 and recovered over 31kg heroin, 6kg amphetamine, 2 kg chemical powder and five luxury vehicles.

Apart from this, another case was registered against him in November 2020, when there was a recovery of 5.7kg of heroin, 400gm of opium, three pistols, one revolver, two rifles, 12 luxury cars and ₹50.24 lakh drug money.

The DGP said that accused Gurdeep Singh has been detained under the PIT-NDPS Act for one year and has been transferred from Central Jail, Kapurthala, to Central Jail, Bathinda, for strict monitoring.