AIG, Counter Intelligence, H K P S Khakh said they had inputs about the international drug racket and where keeping a tab on Davinder Nirwal alias Dev, a Canadian citizen, the alleged mastermind of the racket.
An international drug syndicate, allegedly controlled from Canada, was busted on Sunday with the arrest of four people, police said. The men allegedly used courier services to smuggle drugs abroad, they said.
Police have also seized 4.75 kg of drug ketamine, known as ‘date rape drug’, and 6 kg opium packed in the double-layered cauldron, generally used for preparations of langar, from near Jandu Singha village in Jalandhar district.
AIG, Counter Intelligence, H K P S Khakh said they had inputs about the international drug racket and where keeping a tab on Davinder Nirwal alias Dev, a Canadian citizen, the alleged mastermind of the racket.
Dev, who hails from Ganga Nagar district of Rajasthan and was presently living in Khanna town in Ludhiana district, was in touch with another Canadian citizen, Kamaljit Singh Chouhan, who resides in Toronto but hails from Nagar village in Jalandhar district, police said.
Besides, Dev (68), police have arrested Ajit Singh (45), Tarlochan Singh (42) — both residents of Jaitewali village in Jalandhar disrict — and Gurbax Singh (50), a resident of village Katthe in Hoshiarpur district.
Kamaljeet Singh has also been booked under the relevant sections of NDPS Act and IPC.
Divulging the details, Khakh said that acting on a tip-off, police carried out a special operation on Haripur T-Point near Jandu Singha village and arrested the four persons traveling in two cars — Nissan Micra and Nissan Terrano. Khakh added the accused were carrying seven big cooking bowls with the drugs hidden in especially-made pockets. The cauldrons were to be transferred to Canada, through a courier company.
“The use of private couriers or postal services is a new modus operandi used by global drug smugglers to avoid police and other agencies,” Khakh added.
He said preliminary probe revealed that the consignment was prepared by one Kamaljit Chouhan, who visited India last winter and fixed a deal with the accused for smuggling of ketamine and opium to Canada. As per the agreement, Dev and Ajit Singh were to arrange drugs from their Indian sources and pack them properly, while Chouhan had taken the responsibility to further take the drugs to Canada through courier route which was known only to him.
According to police sources, Dev was arrested in 2011 for international smuggling of narcotics. He had allegedly made huge properties from drug money and had purchased a commercial plaza of 6000 sq feet, along with some other properties in Jaipur, which had been sealed by Enforcement Directorate (ED). Ajit Singh was a known heroin smuggler, who was earlier arrested under the NDPS Act cases and fake currency cases.