Amritsar (Punjab) [India], June 10 : In a significant breakthrough, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a well-organised narco-hawala cartel allegedly led by Arshdeep, who is currently incarcerated in Goindwal Jail, officials said on Tuesday.
According to officials, acting on precise intelligence, police teams arrested six operatives and recovered 4.526 kg of heroin and Rs 8.7 lakh in drug money.
Preliminary investigations reveal that Arshdeep, in collusion with associates Jaspreet and Karan, orchestrated the drug trade and hawala transactions. Karan, along with Gurmeet and Rajinderpal, managed the retrieval and distribution of cross-border drug consignments across various districts in Punjab.
"The proceeds from the narcotics trade were laundered through hawala channels by Jaspreet, funnelled to Dubai, UAE, and subsequently to Pakistan. A mobile phone used by Arshdeep inside the jail was seized, providing critical evidence of their cross-border operations," the police said in a release.
One of the arrested operatives, who spent a year in Dubai forging connections with Pakistani smugglers, leveraged his village's proximity to the international border to facilitate smuggling directly to his residence after returning to India two months ago, they said.
Earlier on Sunday, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab, in a joint operation with Muktsar Police, arrested three wanted fugitive criminals after AGTF arrested an associate of a gangster in the state. Forces recovered weapons and drugs from the possession of the fugitives.
The accused have been identified as Gaurav Kumar (also known as Billa), Vikasdeep Singh, and Lovepreet Singh. All three were wanted in multiple criminal cases, including serious offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act.
"Accused Gaurav was a fugitive in a case registered at Malout police station, while the other two were wanted in a case registered at Sri Muktsar Sahib police station," Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, shared the information in an X post on Sunday.
The police also recovered 174 gm heroin, two pistols (.32 bore), and 10 live cartridges.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the trio was planning "to eliminate a rival."
In a separate incident which occurred earlier on Sunday, the Anti-Gangster Task Force of Punjab apprehended Nilson Massih alias Sunny, an associate of Gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, said Director General of Punjab Police Gaurav Yadav.