The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday arrested an alleged key member of a Pakistan-based drug trafficking syndicate in connection with the recent seizure of over 56.50 kg of heroin by the Border Security Force (BSF).
The accused has been identified as Jasbir Singh, a resident of Hoshiyarpur in Punjab.
The BSF had seized the contraband in Rajasthan’s Bandali Khajuvala along the Indo-Pakistan border on June 3. The next day, it arrested two accused persons, Rupa and Harmesh Singh, in Punjab, with the help of the local police. However, prime accused Jasbir Singh and his associate, Kali, fled the spot.
“Both of them are habitual offenders under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Indian Penal Code (murder), Excise Act, Arms Act and the Jail Manual Act,” said an NCB official, adding that they were absconding since 2019.
The case was handed over to the NCB’s Jodhpur unit. The agency identified one Malik Choudhary, a resident of Lahore in Pakistan, as the suspected heroin supplier and launched a hunt for Jasbir Singh.
During investigation, three more accused — Rajvinder Singh, Sukhpreet Singh and Sunil Singh, all residents of Rajasthan — were arrested for harbouring Jasbir Singh and conducting recce along the border to facilitate heroin smuggling.
Based on the findings, the NCB sleuths mounted surveillance and finally arrested the prime accused in Hoshiyarpur on Thursday.
