Punjab Police Bust Narco-Hawala Cartel Operated From Jail; 6 Arrested, 4.5 Kg Heroin Seized

Chandigarh: Punjab police on Tuesday claimed to have dismantled a narco-hawala cartel being operated by smuggler Arshdeep Singh, currently incarcerated at Punjab’s Goindwal jail, with the arrest of its six operatives and recovering over 4.5 kg of heroin and Rs 8.7 lakh drug money from their possession.

Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said those arrested have been identified as Karandeep Singh alias Karan, 25, a resident of Tarn Taran, Jaspreet Singh, 20, a resident of Ludhiana, Arshdeep Singh alias Ars, 22, a resident of Tarn Taran, Gurmeet Singh, 24, a resident of Fazilka, Rajinderpal Singh, 24, a resident of Amritsar and Malkeet Singh, 28, a resident of Tarn Taran.

DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that Arshdeep, in connivance with his associates Jaspreet and Karan, has been orchestrating the drug trade and hawala transactions. Karan, along with Gurmeet and Rajinderpal, were retrieving cross-border consignments and distributing them across various districts of Punjab, he said.

He said that the probe has further revealed that the proceeds from the narcotics trade were laundered via hawala channels by Jaspreet, which were routed to Dubai, UAE and subsequently to Pakistan. The mobile phone used by Arshdeep within the jail has been recovered, providing crucial evidence of their cross-border operations, he said.

Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that Arshdeep Singh has been lodged in the jail in a commercial NDPS case. Despite incarceration, he maintained contact with cross-border smugglers, he said.

He said that one of the arrested accused identified as Malkeet Singh, who has been arrested separately, is a notorious smuggler and had spent a year in Dubai, where he established links with Pakistani smugglers. Given his village's proximity to the international border, the accused has facilitated the smuggling of consignments directly to his residence upon his return to India two months ago, he added.