KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
The Border Security Force (BSF) on March 26 arrested two unidentified individuals and seized 22 grams of heroin and two mobile phones from their possession near Hazara Singh Wala village in Ferozepur district. Preliminary questioning revealed they had received the heroin from a resident of Peer Ismail Khan Basti in Sukna, Ferozepur district.
Police on March 26 arrested two individuals, identified as Gurraj Singh and Raghubir Singh and seized 400 grams of heroin and a car from their possession in Duggan village in Sangrur district. Based on information obtained during their interrogation, the police also arrested another individual, identified as Ajay Singh.
Police on March 26 arrested two women, identified as Harpreet Kaur and Navdeep Kaur and seized 705 grams of heroin, INR 29,500, and a two-wheeler from their possession in Sangrur district. After their interrogation, the police arrested Baljinder Singh, while another identified suspect, Amardeep Sekhawat, remains at large.
Punjab Police on March 25 busted a cross-border drug smuggling racket by arresting 12 unidentified persons and seizing 4 kg of heroin and INR 3 lakh in drug money in Amritsar district. The smuggling module was allegedly led by Malaysia-based top smuggler Ranjeet Singh alias Cheeta, who is linked to previous major drug hauls, including the 2019 seizure of 532 kg of heroin at Attari International Check Post in Punjab. Drones were reportedly used by the module to transport drugs from Pakistan into Tarn Taran district. Investigations are ongoing to uncover further connections and make additional arrests in the case.
Police on March 25 arrested Satnam Singh and Gurdeep Singh and seized 220 kg of poppy husk from their possession at Malerkotla-Raikot Road near Malerkotla in Malerkotla district. The duo were smuggling poppy husk, hiding it in a turmeric consignment.
Police on March 24 arrested a courier worker and a member of arms and drug smuggling racket backed by gangster and Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Landa, identified as Gagandeep Singh and seized 2 kg of opium from his possession in Jalandhar in Jalandhar district. This operation is part of a larger operation targeting Landa's interstate weapon smuggling network, which has resulted in the seizure of 25 weapons and 29 kg of opium so far.
The Nawanshahr police on March 24 arrested two drug peddlers, identified as Harsimranjeet Singh and Amandeep Singh and seized 12 grams of heroin, two syringes and a car from their possession at a naka (checkpoint) near Kathgarh village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police in a joint operation on March 23 recovered 2 kg of heroin and a drone from farming fields adjacent to Nanak Nagar village in Fazilka district.
Police on March 23 arrested a woman smuggler, identified as Parminder Kaur and seized 1.8 kg of poppy husk and INR 35,000 drug money from her possession in Samrala in Ludhiana district. Three accomplices, identified as Balwinder Singh alias Bindri, Prince, and Sameer alias Mota, are still at large.
Police on March 23 arrested three drug smugglers identified as Rinku, Mehar Singh and Jagmal Singh and seized 22 grams of heroin and a car from their possession, at a naka (checkpoint) near Khanna in Ludhiana district.
The Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation with the Punjab Police on March 20, arrested an unidentified person and seized a packet containing 533 grams of heroin and a mobile phone without a SIM card from Dal village in Tarn Taran district. Another unidentified individual was later arrested in connection with the recovery.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police conducted a joint search operation on March 19 based on intelligence from the BSF Intelligence Wing and arrested one unidentified person and seized approximately 14.50 kg of opium plants after discovering illegal poppy cultivation along with coriander in an agricultural field near Chak Khewa and Dhani Bachan villages in Jalalabad tehsil, Fazilka district.
The Border Security Force (BSF) on March 18 arrested five unidentified smugglers in a successful intelligence-led operation in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. The operation began with the seizure of heroin transported by drone, after which the BSF provided crucial information to the Gurdaspur police, leading to the initial arrest of two smugglers. Subsequent investigation efforts resulted in the apprehension of three more individuals, marking a significant blow to long-standing drug trafficking networks in Punjab.
Amritsar (Rural) police on March 18 arrested two drug peddlers identified as Gurmukh Singh alias Bodhi, and Dilbagh Singh and seized 500 grams of heroin from their possession in Attari village in Amritsar district. The heroin had been dropped near a government school ground in Attari, prompting a response from the Punjab Police following a tip-off from village defense committee members regarding drone activity. The suspects were arrested when they attempted to retrieve the heroin. An investigation is underway to determine Dilbagh Singh's involvement in drug smuggling and potential links with Pakistan-based smugglers.
The Border Security Force (BSF) on March 18 recovered 3.306 kg of heroin, believed to have been dropped by a drone, from near the dargah of Bodal Saha Peer Baba adjacent to Mehdipur village in Tarn Taran district.
The Border Security Force (BSF) on March 17 recovered 600 grams of heroin that was dropped by a drone in fields near Naushera Dhalla village in Tarn Taran district.
The Border Security Force (BSF) on March 15 recovered a package containing a pistol, two magazines, and 3.38 kg of heroin during a search operation in fields near Kakkar village in Ajnala tehsil in Amritsar district. Officials noted the presence of a metal hook and an illumination ball attached to the packet, indicating that it had been dropped by a drone.
Police from Udyog Vihar Police Station on March 13 seized nearly 600 grams of opium concealed in face cream jars that were sent from Punjab to New Zealand, in Gurugram, Haryana. The parcel raised suspicion when a courier company reported it contained suspicious items. The sender, Mandeep Singh from Punjab, is currently under investigation. The package was intended for Kuldeep Singh in New Zealand.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police conducted a joint operation on March 13 and recovered a grey bag containing 3.236 kg of heroin, along with a metal hook and illuminating strips attached to it, from a residential premise in Mehandipur village in Tarn Taran district. This well-coordinated effort successfully prevented a narco-syndicate from smuggling narcotics into India from across the border.
The Jalandhar police on March 10 arrested nine smugglers identified as Abhi Ram alias Alex, Money, Pawan, Sikandar, Amarjit Kaur, Sunny, Balihar, Amit Shukla, and Parmod and seized 22 kg of opium from their possession, along with frozen bank accounts totaling INR 9 crores and properties worth INR 6 crores suspected to be acquired from drug proceeds. Abhi Ram was arrested in Ranchi, Jharkhand, while the others were apprehended in Delhi. Six Delhi Customs officers are also implicated in the case. According to the police, Abhi Ram was the primary cultivator, while the others were involved in courier operations and money laundering. Additionally, five foreign entities based in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Australia, and Canada were also involved in the case.
The Border Security Force (BSF) troops on March 9 recovered a packet containing about 470 grams of heroin from fields adjacent to Chakram Sai village in Gurdaspur district.
The Amritsar (Rural) police on March 9 arrested a drug peddler, identified as Baljeet Singh and seized 2.8 kg of heroin and INR 2.5 lakh drug money from his possession, at a naka (checkpost) at Khasa bus stop near Khasa village in Amritsar district. According to the Police, Baljeet was in contact with Canada-based drug peddler Honey, who operated a hawala racket. Further investigations are underway.
The Police on March 7 busted a module running a drug racket from across the border by a United States (US) resident Satnam Singh, with the arrest of two peddlers identified as Gurlal Singh and Lovedeep Singh and seized 780 grams of heroin, a motorcycle and two mobile phones from their possession, near Rajoke village in Tarn Taran district. The peddlers confessed to receiving heroin from Satnam Singh across the Indo-Pak border.
The Rajpura police on March 7 busted an inter-state drug module, arresting four of its members, identified as Kusum Devi, Guniya Devi, Ram Geya, and Ranju Kumari and seizing 9 kg of charas from their possession at a checkpoint near Basantpura Village in Patiala district.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police, on March 7, in a joint operation, recovered one packet of heroin weighing 565 grams from a farming field adjacent to Sanktara village Tarn Taran district.