Two held with 1kg heroin in Tarn Taran

Man who got them in touch with smugglers from across the border is absconding

Two men were arrested with 1-kg heroin during checking at Asal Uttar village in Bhikhiwind subdivision of Tarn Taran district on Wednesday.

Identified as Gursewak Singh, alias Sonu, of Rattoke village and Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, of Kalanjar village in the district, they were in touch with smugglers from across the border, said police.

Sukhwinder Singh, alias Disco, who allegedly got them in touch with smugglers and arranged for the contraband to be supplied from across the barbed fence, is absconding. The three have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Drug smuggler’s ₹40L property frozen

The Amritsar rural police on Wednesday froze ₹40-lakh property of a smuggler, who was arrested with 300gm heroin and ₹23-lakh drug money in August 2019.

Police said the accused, Simranjit Singh of Shahowal village in Ajnala subdivision, had procured the property, including ₹25-lakh worth in his wife’s name, using drug money. It includes a house, service station and car.

The next step is to transfer the assets in the central government’s name, said senior superintendent of police Dhruv Dahiya, who had first initiated the process of freezing properties of drug smugglers in Tarn Taran.

When it comes to drug trade, Tarn Taran and Amritsar are the worst-hit districts in Punjab due to their proximity to the international border.