A Special Task Force (STF) nabbed four members of a gang of cross-border smugglers, including a woman, with 6 kg heroin and Rs 19.71 lakh from a naka in Amritsar on late Thursday night. The kingpin of the gang, Shammi, of Ferozepur is in Amritsar jail and is allegedly operating from jail and speaking regularly to his contacts in Pakistan, assistant IPG with the STF, Rashpal Singh said.
When caught, the accused — Nishan Singh, Baldev Singh, Harmesh alias Kali and Krishna Kumari of district Ferozepur — were on a motorcycle and a scooter. Krishna is the sister of Shammi, who was jailed after a 30-minute encounter in Tarn Taran on September 29. Another jail member, Gurjant Singh, is absconding. So far, the STF has seized 6.5-kg heroin and Rs 55 lakh from the gang.
“The arrested accused belong to the gang operated by Shammi and Nirwail Singh of Ferozepur. Nirwail Singh is currently lodged in Faridkot jail. The gang deals with Pakistani smugglers and imports drugs and arms into India. They supply the drugs to the consumers in Punjab and neighbouring states. As per the information, they have already supplied around 100 kg heroin in various parts of Punjab and neighbouring states,” said Rashpal Singh, a member of the STF. He said that accused are suspected of importing drugs from the riverine areas between Ferozepur to Amritsar.
{{/usCountry}}“The arrested accused belong to the gang operated by Shammi and Nirwail Singh of Ferozepur. Nirwail Singh is currently lodged in Faridkot jail. The gang deals with Pakistani smugglers and imports drugs and arms into India. They supply the drugs to the consumers in Punjab and neighbouring states. As per the information, they have already supplied around 100 kg heroin in various parts of Punjab and neighbouring states,” said Rashpal Singh, a member of the STF. He said that accused are suspected of importing drugs from the riverine areas between Ferozepur to Amritsar.
{{/usCountry}}“To operate, they use foreign-made cell phones and use only WhatsApp for calling. We will also identify and nail police officials involved in giving access to a phone to Shammi in jail,” he added. Sources said police failed to act against the gang, even after having shared the information with them. The STF comprised Rashpal Singh, assistant IGP, STF, border range, Amritsar and other officials including DSP Kirpal Singh, inspector Sukhwinder Singh, inspector Arun Sharma, SI Prabhjit Singh and SI Sinder Singh.
1-kg heroin seized in Ferozepur
The Border Security Force (BSF) seized 1kg of heroin and a Pakistani SIM card from a border outpost in the Ferozepur sector on Friday. Following a tip-off, BSF men of the 105 battalion conducted a search operation in Mohamdiwala border outpost area and recovered the contraband wrapped in white polythene and buried in soil ahead of the fence.