Dubai-based smuggler used youths, minors to distribute Pak heroin in Punjab: Police

Amritsar: A Dubai-based drug smuggler had been operating a heroin trafficking ring in Punjab by hiring young men and minors to collect the drug from along the Pakistan border and distribute it among buyers in the state, revealed Amritsar police commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar on Thursday.Police blew the lid off the ring with the arrest of six persons, including two juveniles, and the seizure of 30kg heroin, said Bhullar.The police officer said the adults arrested in the case included Gautam (24) and Kabir alias Kaku (22), and two 18-year-old men, Sameer alias Sabarwal and Gurpreet Singh alias Keeda. "Kaku was previously involved in an NDPS case registered at Chheharta police station," said Bhullar.Bhullar said a preliminary probe revealed that the accused had links with a Dubai-based smuggler facilitating the supply of heroin contraband from Pakistan. Acting on his directions, the accused were retrieving the heroin from locations along the Pakistan border and distributing it among buyers across Punjab, he said.Bhullar said they had received a tip-off about the accused, after which they caught the six people with the heroin. "The Dubai-based smuggler is the mastermind of this drug trafficking module and is wanted in three major NDPS cases, including seizurs of 42kg heroin and 10kg methamphetamine (ICE). "He had been luring young individuals, including juveniles, with monetary incentives and using them to retrieve, transport and distribute drug consignments on his behalf," he added.An FIR under the NDPS Act has been registered at Chheharta police station, Bhullar added.