Bathinda (Punjab) [India], July 8 : Bathinda Police have seized 40 kilograms of heroin, commonly referred to as "chitta," and arrested six alleged smugglers, senior officials confirmed. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the consignment has any links to cross-border networks in Pakistan.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amandeep Kondal said that the seizure was made during a targeted operation by the Crime Investigation Agency-1 (CIA-1) team, which stopped a suspicious black SUV.
Upon conducting a thorough search, officers discovered a concealed cache of heroin weighing 40 kg. The narcotics were reportedly intended for distribution across multiple locations in Punjab.
He said, "As part of the campaign against drug trafficking, the CIA-1 team stopped a black Fortuner SUV today on suspicion. A search of the vehicle revealed 40 kg of heroin. The seized heroin was intended for distribution at multiple locations. The six arrested smugglers are currently in police custody, and further interrogation will be conducted during their remand.
Meanwhile, Border Security Force (BSF) launched a search operation in a suspected border area of Tarn Taran district on the intervening night of July 4-5, 2025, which led to the recovery of one packet of suspected heroin weighing approximately 574 grams, the BSF said on Saturday.
The heroin, wrapped in yellow colour adhesive tape, also had two illuminating sticks and an iron ring attached.
It said that the recovery took place from a farming field adjacent to the Rajoke village in Tarn Taran district.
"Swift action of BSF troops thwarted yet another nefarious attempt of narcotics smuggling from across the border," the BSF added.
Earlier, the Punjab Police's Counter-Intelligence (CI) unit in Amritsar successfully dismantled a cross-border narcotics smuggling network with connections to Pakistan, arresting four people along with the recovery of 5 kg of heroin from their possession.
According to the statement, those arrested have been identified as Resham Singh, a resident of Dhanoe Kalan in Amritsar; Gurpinder Singh, also a resident of Dhanoe Kalan in Amritsar; Rooppreet Singh, a resident of Sehnewali in Amritsar; and Shubhkar Manjit Singh, a resident of Sehnewali in Amritsar.
Apart from recovering 5 kg heroin, police teams have also impounded their vehicle and motorcycle being used for transporting the consignments.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were acting under the directions of a Pakistan-based smuggler identified as Kaka, a resident of Dyal in Pakistan, who has been using drones to drop narcotic consignments from across the border.
The arrested accused persons were further delivering the narcotics consignments to other parties in the state, he said.
Sharing operation details, the DGP said that teams from Counter-Intelligence, Amritsar, received specific intelligence about the retrieval of narcotics consignments by some individuals from near the Indo-Pak border area falling near the village Dhanoe Kalan in Amritsar.