Punjab police, central agencies bust narco-organised crime nexus; three held

Chandigarh [India], June 22 : Amid the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Amritsar Rural Police in close coordination with Central Agencies have busted Narcotics and Organised Crime nexus backed by USA-based smuggler Sarwan Singh alias Bhola Havelian with the arrest of its three operatives from Ajnala, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Saturday.
Those arrested have been identified as Karanjit Singh of Khalra in Tarn Taran, Akash Seth alias Raghu and Sukhdeep Singh, both residents of Raja Sansi in Amritsar.
Police teams have also recovered six pistols-- including five .30 bore Star pistols and one 9mm Glock-- along with six live cartridges and 10 magazines, 200 grams heroin and one electronic weighing machine from their possession.
Notably, Sarwan Singh, who is carrying a Rs 2 lakh reward on his arrest, is the brother of infamous drug smuggler Ranjeet alias Cheeta and is wanted in a 532-kg Heroin haul case, in which the latter was arrested in May 2020. Ranjit Cheeta was the mastermind behind the smuggling of 532 packets of heroin which were seized by the Customs Department at ICP Attari in July 2019 and is being investigated by the National Investigating Agency (NIA).
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following intel inputs that associates of Sarwan Singh have retrieved the weapon consignment and are going to deliver it to someone, Police teams from CIA Staff conducted a special police check in the jurisdiction of Ajnala and arrested a trio of accused persons and recovered six pistols along with 10 magazines from their possession.
Later, Police teams on the disclosure of Akash alias Raghu have also recovered 200 grams of heroin, six live cartridges and an electronic weighing machine from the location pinpointed by him, he added.
The DGP said that, as per preliminary investigations, the accused person was directly in touch with USA-based smuggler Sarwan Singh and was supplying weapons and heroin. Further investigations are going on to establish backwards and forward linkages in this case, he added.
Sharing more details, SSP Amritsar Rural Satinder Singh probe has also revealed that Akash alias Raghu's cousin Sanjam alias Mathi of Ajnala-- presently lodged in Amritsar Jail-- introduced him to Bhola Havelian.
"We will bring Sanjam on production warrant for further revelations," he added.
He said that Police teams are tracing the financial trails of the accused persons to unravel the entire nexus and more arrests are expected in this case.
A case FIR no. 122 dated June 22, 2024, has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act and sections 21 and 29 have also been added to the FIR, registered at Police Station Ajnala.