Amid lockdown, drug smugglers tried to make a killing

Ludhiana: The drug smugglers managed to run their business even when curfew was strictly imposed due to Covid-19 outbreak. They smuggled contraband by taking advantage of the relaxations the government allowed for distributing ration and medical emergencies.
During the lockdown, the Ludhiana unit of Special Task Force (STF) recovered 14.22kg heroin, Rs 17.5 lakh drug money, 250gm opium and 150gm smack. According to STF, in one case the accused used the gunny bag of the state government used for distributing ration to deliver contraband, and in some cases they took advantage of medical emergency relaxation.
The recovered heroin costs approximately Rs 70 crore in the international market. On May 8, Ludhiana STF had recovered 285gm heroin from Dera head of Rishi Ashram Nirmal Kutiya Bhagwan Singh Baba, 34, of Jagraon, his aides — Shani, 33, of Tibba Road, Gaurav Kumar, 27, also of Tibba Road, and Dharminder Singh, 35, of Kaunke Khose village, Ludhiana. The accused were arrested from near Circuit House following a tip-off. STF officials said Bhagwan Singh took advantage of his saffron clothes and while travelling the accused kept food and beverages along. Whenever they were stopped at a checkpost, they gave food and beverages to cops to win trust.
STF AIG Snehdeep Sharma said, “On May 26, the STF arrested Partap Singh of Kotli Aulakh in Lopoke, Amritsar, with 5.4kg heroin. He was hiding it in plastic gunny bags in which the state government distributes ration. He was arrested from GT Road in Ludhiana. With the help of the gunny bag, he managed to travel from Ferozepur to Ludhiana. Partap Singh has links with Pakistan-based smugglers. On his information, BSF recovered 6kg more heroin from Zero Line in Ferozepur. In another case, an STF team arrested a father-son duo, Nachhatar Singh and Sonu Singh of Barnala, from near Raikot with 350gm heroin on April 14. When their car was stopped at a checkpost, Sonu told the police that his father was unwell and he was taking him to a hospital in Ludhiana. But the STF nabbed them following a tip-off.”
The officer said in some cases, the smugglers also used doctor’s prescriptions, taking advantage of the exemptions given by the government. Due to curfew and lockdown, the numbers of addicts going to de-addiction centres increased by 20%.
Box
DRUG DATA
Total FIRs- 8
Accused arrested- 13
Heroin recovery- 14.22 kg
Opium recovery- 250 gm
Smack recovery- 150 gm
Drug money recovered- Rs 17.5 lakh
The recoveries
April 12- Soni Kumar of Shimlapuri arrested with 10gm heroin
April 14- Nichhtar Singh and Sonu Singh of Barnala nabbed with 350gm heroin
April 20- Vijay Kumar and Munish Kumar of Jodhewal arrested with 360gm heroin
April 29- Bobby Kashmiri and Arjan Rai of EWS Colony held with 810gm heroin
April 29- Raj Kumar of Dehlon and Balwinder Kumar of Moga caught with 300gm heroin
May 4- Amit Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Kiran Bala of Haibowal held with 1.335kg heroin, 150gm smack, 250gm opium and Rs 17.5 lakh drug money
May 26- Partap Singh of Amritsar arrested and 11.4kg heroin