New Delhi: The Punjab Police arrested three high-profile drug smugglers wanted in connection with a 72.5 kg heroin haul from Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai on Thursday, were nabbed from Gurdaspur district in Punjab.
The peddlers were apprehended in the Gurdaspur district, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Thursday. The contraband, which was hidden in the door border of the container containing white marble tiles, was discovered by a team of Punjab Police officers earlier in July, according to a government release, which also stated that the container was imported by a Delhi-based company.
Gurwinder Singh alias Mehak (27) of Pandori in Amritsar, Gursewak Singh alias Sewak (25) of Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran, and Manjit Singh alias Soni (34) of Mahwa in Amritsar were arrested. The trio was actively involved in high-level trans-border and inter-state drug smuggling in Punjab, according to DGP Yadav, who added that on Wednesday evening, Gurdaspur Police launched a special operation and arrested the accused after intercepting an SUV Mahindra Thar (PB46AH0003) on the Amritsar-Jammu Highway in the Dhariwal area of Gurdaspur.
During the vehicle search, the police team also discovered a revolver and six live cartridges of 9mm and six live cartridges of.32 bore.
Previously, the Mumbai ATS had apprehended Harsimran Sethi from Delhi, who had ordered the shipment, as well as his aide, Mohinder Singh Rathore, who was working as a clearing agent. During the investigation, Mumbai ATS nominated Gurwinder, Gursewak, and Manjit as recipients of the container, according to the DGP. They also travelled to Delhi to clear the shipment. Gurwinder Singh and Manjit were also wanted by the Amritsar Rural Police in an attempted murder case in which they fired on a police party in the Amritsar Rural district in October 2020, according to SSP Gurdaspur Deepak Hilori.