Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a transit corridor for opium smuggling to Punjab, with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) seizing 26.737 kg of the contraband worth an estimated ₹1.3 crore in two separate operations and arresting four alleged traffickers.
The seizures have brought two suspected interstate supply routes under the scanner. In one case, a Bareilly-based handler allegedly coordinated deliveries through couriers, while the other involved opium sourced from Barachatti in Bihar’s Gaya district and destined for Mohali in Punjab.
In the Rampur operation on Monday, the ANTF’s Bareilly unit and Gautam Buddh Nagar sub-unit intercepted an SUV near Shiv Dharam Kanta on the Bilari-Shahabad road under Saifni police station limits. The vehicle was carrying 20.497 kg of opium worth around ₹1 crore. The three arrested men were identified as Awadhesh Kumar Sharma and Naveen, both from Bareilly, and Vipin Kumar from Moga district in Punjab.
Preliminary questioning revealed that the accused were allegedly working for a Bareilly-based handler who had instructed them to deliver the consignment to a contact in Punjab. They reportedly admitted to making several previous opium deliveries to the state.
In a separate operation on Tuesday, the ANTF’s Saharanpur unit arrested Gurdeep Singh, a resident of Mote Majra village in Mohali district, with 6.240 kg of opium worth around ₹30 lakh. He was intercepted in a truck near Jamiyatpur turn on the Lucknow-Sitapur road under Khairabad police station limits.
{{/usCountry}}In a separate operation on Tuesday, the ANTF’s Saharanpur unit arrested Gurdeep Singh, a resident of Mote Majra village in Mohali district, with 6.240 kg of opium worth around ₹30 lakh. He was intercepted in a truck near Jamiyatpur turn on the Lucknow-Sitapur road under Khairabad police station limits.
{{/usCountry}}According to the ANTF, Singh told investigators that he had procured the consignment from a person in Barachatti, Bihar, and was to deliver it to another person in Banur, Mohali, for payment.
Investigators are now identifying the handlers and intended recipients, tracing the source of the contraband and examining possible links between the two supply chains.
The seizures included an SUV, a truck, six mobile phones, an Aadhaar card and ₹8,520 in cash. Separate FIRs have been registered at Saifni police station in Rampur and Khairabad police station in Sitapur under Sections 8, 18, 29 and 60 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.