Suspected Drug Smuggler Held In Punjab, Rs 4.94 Crore Cash Seized

A suspected drug smuggler from Ludhiana’s Mullanpur Dakha was arrested in a joint operation of the Punjab Police and their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts.

Police also seized Rs 4.94 crore in cash from the accused, a top officer said on Wednesday.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the accused identified as Manjit Singh was among those linked to the recovery of 30 kg of cocaine from Jammu on October 1.

Earlier, two Punjab-based drug smugglers identified as Hunny Basra of Palahi Gate Phagwara and Sarabjit Singh of village Ballan in Kartarpur were arrested.

Manjit, a native of village Thandian in Banga, Nawanshahr, has been living at Dashmesh Nagar, Mullanpur Dakha for the last six months.

Police also recovered a .32 bore revolver, 38 fake vehicle number plates of Punjab and Haryana, 44 grams gold, 385 grams silver, a currency counting machine and a weighing machine from his possession.

DGP Yadav said that following reliable inputs about the involvement of Manjit Singh in the 30-kg cocaine recovery case, a team of the counter intelligence unit in Ludhiana joined the Jammu and Kashmir police and launched a search operation in the state.

“Police teams have arrested the accused Manjit Singh from his rented accommodation in Mullanpur Dakha after laying a trap,” he said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that he used to transport drugs in vehicles from the Jalandhar area after picking up consignments from two persons arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. These two persons used to go to Jammu to retrieve consignments.

Investigations are ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages, he added.

Sharing more details, Assistant Inspector General Simratpal Singh Dhindsa said that during questioning, the accused revealed that he used to transport drugs from Jalandhar to other places and had transported three consignments so far.

It was also revealed that Manjit Singh’s father, identified as Satnam Singh, is also into drug smuggling and was declared a proclaimed offender in a drugs case registered in Garhshankar, he said, while adding that police teams are conducting raids to nab him.