Army personnel, aide held in Punjab with 31 kg heroin smuggled in from Pakistan

Apart from heroin, the police have also seized a car and two mobile phones from their possession.

Army Personnel (26) was posted as a sepoy in Pathankot

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

In a major breakthrough against trans-border narcotic smuggling networks amidst the ongoing ‘war against drugs’, Punjab Police in a joint operation with central agencies and Border Security Force (BSF) arrested an Army personnel and his aide after recovering 29 packets of heroin, weighing 31.02 kg, from their possession, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav Saturday.

The 26-year-old Army Personnel, posted as a sepoy in Pathankot, was arrested along with his aide Paramjeet Singh alias Pamma of Mahalam village in Fazilka. Apart from heroin, the police have also seized a car and two mobile phones from their possession.

In a well-coordinated operation with the central agencies and the BSF, Yadav said Fazilka police led by SSP Bhupinder Singh Sidhu launched a cordon and search operation in the area of Sadar Fazilka. “On checking the car, one of the occupants showed an Indian Army ID card and when the police insisted on checking the vehicle, they managed to run away in the car,” he said. Yadav said all naka points were alerted and the accused were intercepted at the Gaaganke-Shamsabad road naka.

Story continues below this ad

He added that on checking the vehicle, the police found 29 packets of heroin.

The DGP reiterated that Punjab Police is committed to root out drug menace from the state as per the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

DIG Ferozepur range Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that during preliminary investigation it came to the fore that both the accused persons were escaping the border district after retrieving a consignment of drugs pushed by Pakistan-based smugglers through the border fencing with the help of a pipe. Further investigations are on, he said.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered under Sections 21-C (possession of commercial quantity of contraband), 23 (illegal import into India, export from India or transhipment of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances) and 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the NDPS Act at the Sadar Fazilka police station.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram