Gujarat ATS arrests Amritsar man in cross-border smuggling case

Amritsar resident arrested from Ahmedabad’s Rakhial area in Punjab heroin, grenade and arms smuggling case; 42.9 kg heroin earlier seized

Published on: Feb 26, 2026, 19:54:11 IST

By Maulik Pathak

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday arrested an Amritsar resident wanted in a cross-border smuggling case in Punjab from an embroidery factory in Ahmedabad’s Rakhial area, officials said.

The suspect, Rehmat Ali, a resident of Bhalla Colony in Amritsar, was wanted by the Punjab Police in a case related to smuggling heroin, hand grenades and firearms across the Punjab–Pakistan border, a Gujarat ATS official said.

According to Gujarat ATS, Ali’s movement from Nepal to Gujarat was tracked following specific intelligence received while monitoring narcotics networks operating across India.

Punjab Police had earlier arrested two other suspects and seized 42.9 kg of heroin, four hand grenades, one Star-marked pistol and 46 live cartridges. Following this, Ali fled the state, crossed into Nepal, moved through Bihar and eventually reached Gujarat, where he began working at an embroidery unit in Ahmedabad, officials said.

“During preliminary questioning, the accused revealed his involvement in a wider narcotics and arms smuggling network. He transported consignments of heroin, hand grenades and pistols from border areas in Punjab in January and delivered them to other individuals in the state,” the ATS official added.

The Gujarat ATS said in a statement that it has informed Punjab Police and initiated legal proceedings to hand him over for further action.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk Hunger Strike LIVE and more across India.