An Indian Army officer, an ex-policeman, and two women were among six people arrested on Sunday in Punjab's Faridkot after the police busted a Pakistan-backed international drug cartel operation.
The Punjab Police recovered 4.8kg of heroin, a .30 caliber bore pistol, and three live cartridges from their possession, in addition to Rs 30,000 of alleged drug money.
It has also impounded two vehicles, a Thar and an XUV-500, that were allegedly used for trafficking operations, an Indian Express report said.
According to Director General of Police (Punjab), Gaurav Yadav, the accused have been identified as Jarnail Singh (alias Goldy), who is currently serving in the Indian Army, Amardeep Singh (alias Boxer), a dismissed former member of the state police, Dimple Rani, Ramandeep Kaur, Sarabjit Singh (alias Sabba), and Amritpal Singh (alias Abhijot).
How the six accused were caught
Yadav added that the arrest came after two months of intercepting cartel communications from jails. This showed that the accused were in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers who were using drones to push heroin packages into India.
The report added, citing Senior Superintendent of Police (Faridkot), Dr Pragya Jain, that in the early hours between Friday and Saturday, a team of officers intercepted a Thar vehicle near Green Avenue. Under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Faridkot) Tarlochan Singh, a search was conducted, which led to the recovery of 1.008kg of heroin and some drug money. As a result, the four passengers in the Thar were immediately arrested.
She added that after further interrogation, it was revealed that the 1kg consignment had been supplied by Amardeep Singh (alias Boxer), from an XUV-500 vehicle.
"Acting on this lead, police teams intercepted Boxer and his associate Dimple Rani near village Goleana Semnala, recovering an additional 3.796 kg of heroin and a .30 bore pistol from their possession,” Dr Jain noted.
She also pointed out that Singh was a habitual offender with nine prior criminal cases. The other accused also reportedly have significant criminal records under the NDPS and Arms Acts. A case has now been registered under sections 21(c) and 27A of the NDPS Act, as the investigation into the drug cartel's operations continues.