Police freeze Rs 42.5 lakh property in anti-drug drive

Ludhiana: Continuing its crackdown under the ‘War Against Drugs' campaign, Khanna police has frozen properties worth Rs 42.5 lakh belonging to an alleged drug smuggler. SSP Khanna, Dr. Darpan Ahluwalia, said the action was taken against Dharamvir and his mother Geeta, residents of an area opposite Guru Nanak College in Doraha. Police officials stated that the properties were frozen by the competent authority in Delhi on the recommendation of Khanna police. They added that the accused will no longer be able to sell or transfer the assets. The frozen assets include a plot worth Rs 36 lakh, construction valued at Rs 6.17 lakh, and Rs 28,100 identified as drug money.This action stems from a case registered last year under the NDPS Act after 15 grams of heroin was recovered from Abhishek Singh and Navdeep Singh, both residents of Payal. During the investigation, Dharamvir Gujjar was nominated as an accused. Following his arrest, police recovered 150 grams of heroin, 500 grams of ‘Ice', and ₹2,800 in drug money from his possession. The SSP said the SHO of Doraha police station conducted a financial probe into the illegally acquired assets, including properties purchased in the mother's name. This follows a pattern of recent enforcement by the district authorities against those involved in the local narcotics trade.In March, Khanna police attached property worth Rs 29.5 lakh belonging to a drug peddler who had also purchased assets in his mother's name. On September 16, 2025, Maloud police had arrested that individual, identified as Baljinder Singh, alias Gurpreet Singh of Dudal Road, after recovering 54 kilograms of poppy husk. Earlier, around February, Khanna police had attached properties worth Rs 1.27 crore belonging to Jasdev Singh, a drug peddler from Machhiwara. These consecutive actions underscore the department's strategy of targeting the financial infrastructure of smuggling operations to prevent the reinvestment of illicit proceeds into local real estate or the further expansion of criminal networks within the region.