Punjab police busts major heroin smuggling racket, seize 30 kg of drugs

Amritsar Rural police seized 30 kg of heroin in a major operation against a cross-border smuggling racket.

The Punjab Police on Friday claimed to have busted a cross-border narcotics smuggling racket with the arrest of one smuggler and the seizure of 30 kilogrammes of heroin.

On Friday, the Punjab Police said they had arrested one smuggler and seized thirty kilogrammes of heroin, breaking up a cross-border drug trafficking ring. (Hindustan Times/representative )

Drones were used to transport the drugs from Pakistan that, the police said, was the year's biggest heroin seizure so far.

"In an intelligence-led operation, Amritsar Rural police busts a cross-border smuggling racket and apprehends one drug smuggler and recovers 30 kilogrammes of heroin along with one car. Drones were used to transport (the) drugs from Pakistan," the state's Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said in a post on X.

"The arrested accused was involved in large-scale heroin smuggling, and it was reported that he had recently received a large consignment of heroin smuggled via drone across the border," he said.

An FIR under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered at Gharinda police station, he added.

Further investigation is underway to identify more individuals involved and trace the origins of the smuggling network, Yadav further said.