‘Pak-guided’ drone runner among 8 held in Ferozepur

Ferozepur: A smuggler wanted for drone-based drug deliveries is among eight arrested in a district-wide sweep in which local police also seized 3.7-kg heroin and a cache of illegal pistols.With one suspect allegedly linked to a Pakistan-based "dealer", the bust is seen as a major win against the cross-border narcotics trade. Ferozepur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Bhupinder Singh Sidhu confirmed the arrests were the result of four targeted operations across the district.In the largest of the four cases, police intercepted Jasnoor Singh, 20, and Vishal, 22, on the Basti Visava link road and seized 3.6-kg heroin, which the suspects admitted to procuring from an unidentified contact in the Jhabal area of Tarn Taran. A second operation by the crime investigation agency (CIA) targeted a cell allegedly linked to international traffickers.Second operation's suspects, Manpreet Singh, 28, and Luvpreet Singh, 28, were arrested with 100g heroin, three pistols, and a getaway car. Manpreet is a wanted fugitive with eight prior cases, including attempted murder and drone-based drug smuggling. Police claim he has a Pakistani handler.Police also solved a case of targeted shooting at a house from April 10, in which a minor girl was injured. Arrested for the firing, Rahul, 20, and Karan, 20, confessed under interrogation to carrying out the hit on the orders of Mohit Gill for ₹25,000. Gill remains on the run. In a separate bust, police seized a country-made pistol from Gurbakshish Singh, 27, at the Zira main market.Habitual offendersSSP Sidhu said most of the arrested suspects were "hardened" repeat offenders. Gurbakshish Singh faces six cases under the NDPS and Arms Acts, while Luvpreet Singh is involved in five cases across three districts. "These operations have disrupted the local supply chain for both illegal narcotics and illegal weapons," Sidhu said. "We are tracking the financial and international links behind these networks."MSID:: 130556882 413 |