Two arrested with 7.6 kg heroin in Amritsar

Amritsar Police on Thursday busted a cross-border drug smuggling network with the arrest of two persons and the recovery of 7.6 kg heroin, officials said. Police have also recovered Rs 21,800 of drug money, they said. The accused were identified as Sahibpreet Singh alias Sahib (19) and Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan (26), both residents of Amritsar. The two have previous criminal records, including cases under the Arms Act and snatching-related offences. The DGP said preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were in contact with a Dubai-based handler through virtual numbers. The handler allegedly arranged heroin consignments from across the border using drones and shared locations for collection and further supply. He said the Dubai-based handler is linked to multiple narcotics networks and is also connected with a major NDPS case involving the recovery of 43 kg of heroin. Further investigations are underway to trace the forward and backward links of the network, the DGP said. Amritsar Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the arrests and recoveries were made on the basis of specific inputs and efforts are on to dismantle the entire network.