Punjab police bust international drug racket; arrests 4 smugglers with opium and ketamine

Chandigarh, June 18: Continuing its high voltage efforts on curbing the menace of drugs, Punjab police on Sunday busted an international drug syndicate after arresting four smugglers along with opium and the potent date-rape drug ketamine. 

After getting a specific input, the Punjab police carried out a special operation on Haripur T-Point near Jandu Singhaand in Jalandhar and arrested the four people who were traveling in two cars with opium and the potent date-rape drug ketamine.

The four persons arrested by Punjab police are Dev (68), Ajit Singh (45) of Jaitewali village in Jalandhar, Tarlochan Singh (42) of Jaitewali village and Gurbax Singh (50) of Katthe village in Hoshiarpur. They were carrying seven big cooking bowls containing drugs which were meant for transporting to Canada through a courier company.

AIG Counter Intelligence HKPS Khakh said that the police team under his leadership arrested four persons, who were using the courier services route to smuggle drugs abroad. He further claimed of busting an international module of drug smugglers reportedly controlled from Canada.

The police official said, “The racket was allegedly found to be masterminded by Canadian citizen Kamaljit Singh Chauhan, residing in Toronto in Canada, who originally hails from Phillaur district in Jalandhar, and Davinder, alias Dev.” “While Dev is among the four arrested, Chauhan is yet to be apprehended,” he added.

“The police have seized the 4.75 kgs of a costly drug “Ketamine” and 6 kgs. of “Opium”, neatly packed in double layered seven “Big Cooking Bowls“ (Cauldron), basically used for preparations of “Langar” material,” he noted. All payments were being made through hawala channels, which are also under investigation, he concluded.

FIR has been registered against four accused under various provisions of the IPC and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Importantly, Dev is a big name in the drug smuggling world, had been under close watch by the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) who strategized the joint operation undertaken by the Counter Intelligence Wing and District Police Jalandhar Rural.