Punjab: 2 associates of a Turkish smuggler arrested with 105 kg of heroin and 6 weapons

On Sunday, Punjab police said they had busted a cross-border smuggling operation, arresting two associates of a drug smuggler based in Turkey, and seized 105 kg of heroin and six weapons.

Police described it as one of the largest drug seizures and said they had arrested two accomplices of Turkey-based drug smuggler Navpreet Singh alias Nav Bhullar.

“In an intelligence-led operation, PunjabPoliceInd busts a cross-border smuggling racket and arrests two associates of foreign drug smuggler Navpreet Singh @Nav Bhullar and recovers 105 kg of heroin, 31.93 kg of anhydrous caffeine, 17 kg of DMR, 5 products of foreign pistols and one desi kata (domestic-made pistol),” Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said in a post on X.

The arrested were identified as Navjot Singh, a resident of Guru Tegh Bahadur Colony in Baba Bakala, Amritsar and Lovepreet Kumar, a resident of Kala Sanghian in Kapurthala.

“Drugs were transported from Pakistan through the waterway, and large rubber inner tubes were also found, which indicates that drugs were smuggled through this route,” he added.

Yadav said that apart from recovering heroin, police teams also recovered a huge quantity of scheduled drugs, including 31.93 kg of anhydrous caffeine and 17 kg of dextromethorphan (DMR).

“The investigation revealed that the defendants used these drugs as multiplying agents to quadruple the amount of heroin,” he said.

Sharing details of the operation, Yadav said that Amritsar’s counter intelligence (CI) team received information that foreign smuggler Navpreet Singh alias Nav Bhullar was running a Pakistan-backed cross-border smuggling operation using his associates camped in a rented flat on Colony Lady Road in Baba Bakala.

“An operation was launched and a special checkpoint was set up in the Baba Bakala area, leading to the arrest of accused Navjot Singh and Lovepreet Kumar and recovery of seven kilograms of heroin and the car in which they were traveling,” the DGP said.

The DGP further stated that based on the disclosure statements of the arrested accused, police teams recovered the remaining 98 kg of heroin along with weapons, anhydrous caffeine and DMR from the rented premises.

Further investigations are ongoing to establish backward and forward links in the case and police teams have launched a manhunt to arrest more criminals involved in the drug cartel, police officials said.

The case was registered under Art. 21, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act and Art. 25 of the Arms Act at the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) of Amritsar Police Station.