9 arrested, 60 kg heroin seized from gang led by Pak-based smuggler: Punjab Police
As part of its ongoing war on drugs, the Punjab police on Sunday arrested 114 drug smugglers and recovered 4.1 kg of heroin and Rs 9.6 lakh cash from them.
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The operation was conducted simultaneously in all 28 police districts of the state on the DGP’s directions. (File Photo)In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police, with the support of Border Security Force (BSF) and Rajasthan Police, has busted a major international drug cartel being operated by Pak-based smuggler Tanveer Shah and Canada-based handler Joban Kaler and recovered a huge consignment of 60.302 kg heroin from near the International Border in Barmer, Rajasthan.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said the operation has led to the arrest of at least nine people, including smugglers, traffickers and hawala operators from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir.
Those arrested have been identified as Gagandeep Singh, alias Gagan (23) of Rampura village in Amritsar, Jashanpreet Singh, alias Jashan (20) of Khurmania village in Amritsar, Gursahib Singh (25) of Boparai Baj village in Amritsar, Rajeev Panjgotra, alias Rajveer (29) of Kalyana village in J&K, Somnath (62) of Fatehpur Brahmana in J&K, Prashotam Singh, alias Kala (50) of Simbal camp in J&K, Kulwinder Singh (24) of Mullechak village in Amritsar, Rajinder Kaur (42) of Tanda village in J&K and one hawala operator.
In a massive crackdown, #Amritsar Commissionerate Police, with the support of #BSF and #Rajasthan Police, dismantles a major international drug cartel operated by #Pak-based smuggler Tanveer Shah and #Canada based handler Joban Kaler and recovers a huge consignment of 60.302 Kg… pic.twitter.com/KRCItxlxx0
— DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) June 30, 2025
DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the drug cartel was being operated by Pakistan-based smuggler Tanveer Shah and Canada-based smuggler Joban Kaler with the help of local kingpin Gursahib Singh, who was already lodged in Goindwal Sahib Jail but continued to run the network from inside the jail using a mobile phone. His phone has been recovered with the help of jail authorities and his production warrant was obtained for deeper probe into Canada-Pakistan linkages, he said.
The DGP said that further investigations are on to establish forward and backward linkages in this case.
Sharing more details, Commissioner of Police (CP), Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that the operation began after Gursahib Singh was arrested last month with 1 kg heroin from Chheharta. Despite being in jail, accused Gursahib operated through his nephew Jashanpreet Singh and associate Gagandeep Singh, who were arrested with 102 gm heroin. Their interrogation led to the huge 60 kg heroin consignment in Barmer, he said.
He said that during investigation, the hawala network used for routing drug money has also been exposed with the arrest of hawala operator.
The CP said that probe has also revealed that drugs were being smuggled from across the Indo-Pak border and routed through Rajasthan to Punjab, with further local distribution channels. Further working on backward linkages, five more accused associated with Tanveer Shah of Pakistan were also identified and raids are being conducted to nab them, he said.
A case under sections 21-B, 21-C, 27-B and 29 of the NDPS Act has been registered at Chheharta police station in Amritsar.
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