Punjab: Three arrested for smuggling drugs; 8 kg of heroin seized

The Punjab Police has busted a gang of drug smugglers, with the arrest of three persons, and seized eight kg of heroin, an official said on Saturday.

Addressing the media here, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navjot Singh Mahal said acting on a tip off, a police team stopped an SUV at Thuana village on the Mahilpur-Phagwara road on Friday night.

While searching the vehicle, police seized eight kg of heroin, which was hidden in a cavity created near the radiator of the car, police said.

Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Barnala, and Manpreet Singh and Jagdeep Singh, both residents of Patiala, have been arrested, they said. The SSP said that police have identified the persons to whom the drugs were to be delivered in Hoshiarpur and other districts of Punjab.

Sukhwinder Singh is named in several cases registered under the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in various police stations of Punjab and Delhi, police said.

He often visited Pakistan and there he allegedly developed connections with drug smugglers, they said.

In another incident, police recovered Rs 20 lakh cash and five kg of poppy husk from a jeep at Garna Sahib here.

The cars occupants -- Surinder Singh, Phuman Singh and Shinder Pal Singh -- have been arrested, police said.

During preliminary investigation, it found that the trio was going to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir for bringing the contraband.