Punjab Police on Monday claimed that 147.5kg heroin was seized from states, including Gujarat and Maharashtra, during two inter-state operations over the last week.
These two recoveries are in addition to the 7.89kg heroin recovered in the state, taking the commutative quantity of heroin to 155.39kg, said inspector general of police (IGP, headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill during a press conference here on Monday.
Notably, in a joint operation with ATS Gujarat on July 12, Punjab Police recovered 75kg heroin from a container at Mundra Port in Gujarat, while, in a similar operation with Maharashtra Police on July 15, 72.5kg heroin was recovered from a container at the Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai.
565 caught on smuggling charges
The IGP said Punjab Police have arrested 565 drug smugglers/suppliers after registering 453 first information reports (FIRs), including 34 commercial, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act across the state over the last week.
He said that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has given a free hand to the state police to wage war on drugs, and thus extensive anti-drug drives have been launched to combat the menace in the border state.
Police have also recovered ₹16.29 lakh drug money, 15kg opium, 37kg ganja, 16 quintal poppy husk, and 64,000 intoxicant pills/capsules among other drugs during search and cordon operations in drug-affected areas and by laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state. As many as 10 proclaimed offenders and absconders in NDPS cases were also nabbed, he added.
{{/usCountry}}Police have also recovered ₹16.29 lakh drug money, 15kg opium, 37kg ganja, 16 quintal poppy husk, and 64,000 intoxicant pills/capsules among other drugs during search and cordon operations in drug-affected areas and by laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state. As many as 10 proclaimed offenders and absconders in NDPS cases were also nabbed, he added.
{{/usCountry}}New modus operandi
IGP Sukhchain Gill said that to avoid being caught, drug smugglers have started to carry out smuggling on foot. He said that it has also been noticed that contraband is sold in small quantities to ensure that even if they are caught, their case is not considered sale of commercial quantity drugs. “Instead of concealing drug consignments at their houses, they use ponds and fields for storage to avoid recovery during raids,” he said.
He said the arrested drug smugglers disclosed that the supply of drugs is either from Shanni-Beli village in Himachal Pradesh, adjoining Pathankot, or from Kathua district of J&K. In view of this border district SSPs have been asked to work in closer coordination with the counterparts in the neighbouring states.
The IGP said that a new modus operandi was also noticed in Malerkotla where a drug smuggler, identified as Rohit Sahi alias Goldy of Amargarh, was found selling heroin while dressed in army fatigue. Police recovered 50gm heroin from his car, he said.