The Punjab police on Sunday claimed to have broken the transit line of yet another major drug cartel emanating from Pakistan by seizing 12 kg heroin and two pistols from two top smugglers, including a Delhi-based “end-recipient” Raman Pandit.
According to release quoting the Amritsar-based Inspector General of Police for the border range, Ishwar Chander, the arrests and seizures were a result of a week-long intelligence operation to neutralise the transit line from Pakistan to New Delhi through Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, the State police had seized 27 kg of heroin smuggled by another international cartel.
The release said the police had worked on information that a major heroin consignment had been pushed by smuggler Akram Dayal from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) through the Jammu and Kashmir, via Punjab and destined for “end-recipients” based in Delhi. While one team succeeded in intercepting smuggler Bhajan Singh, who was on a motorcycle, on the outskirts of Tarn Taran, another team arrested Raman Pandit in New Delhi.
Mr. Chander said that while Akram Dayal was telephonically co-ordinating the transit of the consignment, like other Pakistan-based smugglers he acted cautiously, using “cut-offs” who were not aware about each other except on telephonic instructions from across the border. The consignment was collected from near PoK by one Gurjit Singh who was deputed by Bhajan Singh. The police claimed that Raman Pandit was in touch with Akram Dayal for the last five years.
Meanwhile, the Punjab police headquarters have revealed a manifold increase in the seizure of heroin over the last three years.
As the local consumption of pure heroin was minimal, the police have reported manifold increase in seizure of smack, charas, opium, cannabis and poppy husk which was meant for the State.
Substance abuse through consumption of pharmaceutical origin intoxicants was also major problem in the State. While about 61 lakh pills and capsules were seized in 2011, over three crore of them were seized in 2013.
