Gang using ambulance to smuggle drugs busted, 3 held

Soni added that a man was lying on the stretcher in the ambulance posing to be a patient while another sat next to him posing as an attendant.

“Our team received a tip-off. On checking it was found that the ambulance did not have basic equipments or a first-aid kit following which our suspicion grew. The opium was recovered from a pillow,” the SSP added.The police is now verifying where the ambulance is registered. The SSP added that the accused did not have any criminal background. “We are further verifying whether the ambulance was registered with any of the hospitals and if the hospital exists,” the SSP said.

A special naka was set up on the Ambala-Chandigarh highway. The accused were using a Maruti Omni van with a Chandigarh registration number. Some helpline phone numbers were also mentioned on the ambulance.

DIG expresses concern over misuse of emergency services

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rupnagar Range) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar expressed concern over the misuse of emergency services and asked officials to get the list of ambulances from hospitals in Mohali, Rupnagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib districts. He also suggested using a special beacon on top of the ambulance which could signify whether there was a patient in the ambulance or not.

The DIG said as the Punjab Police have strict directions from the chief minister to root out drug menace from the state, Mohali police have busted an inter-state module engaged in smuggling of narcotics. He said the instance has raised serious concern about misuse of emergency services.

“This has come to the fore during the investigation that how the accused persons had purchased a second-hand ambulance and started using it for smuggling of drugs,” he said.

Bhullar has also asked all three senior superintendents of police in the three districts earlier mentioned, to hold meetings with representatives of all the hospitals there and get the list of ambulances assigned to them. The instruction is aimed at ensuring that genuine patients get a safe passage.

(WITH PTI INPUTS)