Wanted drug lord arrested in IPS officer's case

A man wanted for trans-border drug smuggling in Jammu and Kashmir was today arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in connection with its investigations into arrested IPS officer Saji Mohan's alleged narcotics trade.

A man wanted for trans-border drug smuggling in Jammu and Kashmir was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on Saturday in connection with its investigations into arrested IPS officer Saji Mohan's alleged narcotics trade.

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Highly-placed sources in NCB said Naseeb Chand, a Jammu and Kashmir based trans-border man wanted by the agency, was arrested in Chandigarh based on specific inputs.

They claimed Chand has confessed to be a part of the alleged drug cartel run by Mohan, former NCB Zonal Director.

Sources said that in his confession under the Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act, which is considered a valid in the court, Chand said he had taken a consignment of 10 kg of heroin from Mohan in August 2008.

The agency had earlier this month arrested its own Superintendent Balwinder Kumar, who was posted in Chandigarh, and Mohan's PSOs Naveen Kumar and Devinder Pal Singh on the charge of conspiring with the 1995 Batch IPS officer of J&K cadre to siphon off heroin from seized contraband and then indulging in its trade.

Mohan, was arrested on January 24 by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly trying to sell heroin in Mumbai. At the time of his arrest, he was posted as Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate in Kochi.

He was a known anti-narcotic crusader who had exposed the alleged the police-drug mafia nexus in Chandigarh. The NCB had on January 30 also filed a complaint with the Chandigarh police against Mohan for allegedly bungling in accounts to the tune of over Rs 13 lakhs.