Chandigarh/Amritsar, January 30:
In a major success amidst the ongoing war against drugs waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police have arrested two absconding brothers— considered as big fish in drug trade— along with their three accomplices after recovering 3Kg heroin and ₹5.25 lakh drug money from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.
Duo arrested ‘drug big fish’ have been identified as Manjit Singh alias Manna and Lavjit Singh alias Lav alias Labh, both residents of Guru ki Wadali Chheharta in Amritsar, while, their three accomplices have been identified as Kans Kaur of Chheharta in Amritsar, Harmanjit Singh alias Harman and Manpreet Singh alias Manna, both residents of village Dhun Dhahewal in Tarn Taran. Apart from recovering heroin and drug money, Police teams have also impounded their three cars including Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai i20 and Renault Pulse and one Splendour motorcycle, besides, seizing an electronic weighing scale from their possession.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that both Lavjit alias Lav and Manjit alias Manna, who were absconding since 2015, had a dozen of cases registered against them under the NDPS act. “Both the accused brothers were most wanted by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Mumbai in 260-Kg Heroin seizure and Delhi Special Cell in 356-Kg Heroin seizure,” he said.
The DGP said that both the accused have also got prepared fake passports from Lucknow on the addresses of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh and were planning to flee from the country. Preliminary investigations have also revealed that both the accused brothers were also deeply involved in Hawala network, which has also been destroyed, he added.
Sharing more details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that following reliable inputs about Harmanjit alias Harman going to supply heroin after picking the consignment from Lavjit alias Lav and Manjit alias Manna, Police team from CIA staff led by Inspector Amolakdeep Singh had arrested accused Harman from Chherata area after recovering 2-kg heroin, Rs 1.25 lakh drug money and Hyundai i20 car, in which he was travelling.
He said that in a follow-up operation, the Police teams have also arrested both the accused brothers and their two accomplices Manpreet and Kans Kaur after recovering 1-kg heroin, Rs 4 lakh drug money, two cars and one motorcycle from their possession.
The CP said that the Police have also identified the properties— including a house in Amritsar and land/plot in Shivpuri of Madhya Pardesh, Baba Bakala in Amritsar, Raipur in Amritsar— purchased by both the accused brothers, allegedly, using the drug money. Further investigations are on to unearth the entire drug cartel and to find out more people involved in this cartel, he added.
A case FIR no. 15 dated 20-1-2024 has been registered under sections 21-C, 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Gate Hakima in Amritsar.
