Two convicts among four nabbed in Ludhiana with 750kg poppy husk

The accused had smuggled the contraband from Rajasthan in a truck and had hidden it under sacks of stone powder

The Khanna police arrested four drug peddlers after recovering 750 kg poppy husk from their possession on Sunday.

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Police said the accused had smuggled the contraband from Rajasthan in a truck and had hidden it under sacks of stone powder after cramming it into 50 gunny bags.

They have been identified as Navjot Singh, alias Nanna, 30, and Amarjit Singh, 70, of Lopon village, Samrala; Sukhwinder Singh, alias Jung, 55, of Adarsh Nagar, Samrala; and Harmanpreet Singh, alias Gaggi, 30, of Ber Khurd village, Payal.

Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gursharandeep Singh Grewal said the accused were arrested from near Beeja village following secret information. They were travelling in a truck when police stopped them for checking.

While they claimed the truck was loaded with bags of stone powder, meant to be delivered at a factory in Ludhiana, a search revealed 50 bags of poppy husk hidden under the powder bags. The truck was impounded and the accused arrested.

The SSP said Sukhwinder was already convicted in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case and wanted in another drug peddling case. “He had secured parole in 2016 and never returned to jail since. Amarjit is also a convict in the same case and out on parole. Harmanpreet is facing trial in a case of liquor smuggling after his arrest with 50 cartons of illicit liquor on June 19. He is currently out on bail in this case,” the police official said.

A case under Sections 15, 25, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at Sadar police station of Khanna. More important information is expected from the accused during questioning.