Cheeta-led gang transferred Rs 6-crore drug money to Hizbul Mujahideen: Police

Say the kingpin in 532-kg heroin seizure case and his associates were in direct link with ISI for drug supply; had cleared five other drug consignments through Attari-Wagah border

The interrogation of Ranjit Singh Rana, alias Cheeta — the kingpin in the 532-kg heroin seizure case — and his aides by the police has revealed that they had transferred Rs 6-crore drug money to the terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen during the past five years.

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Officials privy to investigations said Cheeta and his accomplices had been in direct link with Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for the smuggling of heroin from across the border, and for transferring the drug money to the terror outfit.

They said the gang members had cleared five drug consignments through Attari-Wagah border before the seizure of 532-kg heroin.

The officials said the police have also identified around 10 more members of the gang which will be nabbed soon. Some of them are from Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Jalandhar districts, they added.

In June 2019, the officials of the customs department had recovered 532-kg heroin and 52-kg mixed narcotics, worth over Rs 2,700 crore, which were smuggled from across the border in a rock salt-laden truck, at the integrated check post (ICP), Attari, which facilitates India’s trade with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following this, the customs officials had arrested some Amritsar-based importers and a Jammu and Kashmir-based man, whose interrogation revealed that Cheeta was the kingpin of the racket.

Cheeta was arrested on May 9 by Punjab Police from Begi village in Haryana’s Sirsa district with his brother Gagandeep Singh, alias Bhola.

Cheeta was nabbed following Amritsar commissionerate’s investigation into the case in which Hizbul terrorist Hilal Ahmed Wagay of Kashmir was held on April 25. Wagay had come to Amritsar in a truck to collect Rs 29 lakh from two unidentified men on the instructions of the terror outfit’s slain commander Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo.

After Wagay’s arrest with Rs 29 lakh, a team led by Amritsar deputy commissioner of police (DCP-investigation) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar was formed to investigate the case. The team’s investigation also helped Jammu & Kashmir police, which killed Naikoo in a joint operation with the army, the officials said.

Later on, the team arrested Bikram Singh, alias Vicky, and Maninder Singh, alias Money, of Amritsar. Vicky and Money confessed that they had given Rs 29 lakh to Wagay on the instructions of Cheeta and his cousins Iqbal Singh, alias Shera, and Sarwan Singh of Havelian village. Later, two more members of the gang — Jaswant Singh and Ranjit Singh of Gurdaspur — were also arrested. The duo’s interrogation led to Cheeta’s arrest, the officials said.

‘MADE PAYMENTS TO ISI TOO’

“Cheeta’s cousin Iqbal Singh had been in direct link with ISI through various social media applications. The gang had been getting the heroin supply directly from the ISI. Cheeta has told us that they had been paying Rs 8 to 10 lakh per kg to the ISI, through various transaction methods, including hawala, through Dubai,” said one of the investigators, seeking anonymity.

He said, “Sometimes, the gang meenbers used to transfer the money to Hizbul operatives on the ISI’s instructions. Cheeta has confessed that they had transferred Rs 6 crore to the terror outfit in parts. Most of the time, Hizbul operatives collected the drug money from the smugglers under the guise of truck drivers.”

He added, “Before the recovery of 532 kg heroin, Cheeta had got smuggled five consignments — of 150kg, 100kg, 75kg, 35kg and 3 kg — through the land border.”

Another official said, “The earlier five consignments were further smuggled to various parts of Punjab and the adjoining states.”

Meanwhile, DCP Bhullar said, “We are investigating as to where the accused had been supplying the heroin.”

On Saturday, the commissionerate police had recovered 2 kg heroin at Cheeta’s instance at his Ram Tirath road house.