The Punjab police made a significant breakthrough on Sunday, apprehending an inter-state drug smuggler, Sohan Lal alias Kala, along with four of his associates. The arrests were made by the Ropar police, and during the operation, authorities recovered 1 kg of heroin, 143 grams of gold ornaments, Rs 1 lakh in drug money, and an SUV from their possession.
Sohan Lal, the prime accused, had a history of nine cases under the NDPS Act in various locations, including Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala in Punjab, and Solan and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. He was also involved in a case where 520 grams of heroin were seized from another suspect in Hoshiarpur last year, leading to his declaration as a proclaimed offender (PO) in that case.
Ropar police's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Vivek Sheel Soni, provided details about the arrests to the FPJ, explaining that Gaurav Kumar alias Happy was initially apprehended on June 22 near Ropar with 300 grams of heroin. Further investigation led to the names of two more accused: Sandeep Singh from Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh) and Sukhpreet Singh Honey from Amritsar. Subsequently, Sukhpreet was arrested on June 26, and Sandeep was apprehended near Nalagarh on a later date.
The ongoing investigation led to the arrest of three more individuals connected to Sohan Lal's drug trafficking network: Poonam alias Mona, Gaurav's wife, Baljit from Amritsar, and Veer Singh from Atari area, Amritsar.
The combined efforts resulted in the seizure of 1 kg of heroin, 143 grams of gold ornaments, Rs 1 lakh in drug money, and an SUV from the accused individuals.
