Chandigarh, October 5: The Punjab police has arrested two members of a Pakistan-backed international drug-cum-arms smuggling cartel involving a former BSF constable.

Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta on Monday said the police have arrested two men, Simranjeet Singh alias Simran (26) of village Dhirpur, Jalandhar and Balram Singh (26) of village Surakhpur of Kapurthala district – involved in smuggling drugs and weapons from across the border.

The duo was arrested from Kartarpur in Jalandhar when they were on a mission to deliver heroin, said the police chief. The police also seized a 7.65 mm, made-in-Italy pistol, some heroin and some drug sale proceeds in cash, besides two mobile phones, 2 wi-fi dongles and a racing bike from the duo, he said. Punjab: Over 1,200 Litre Liquor Recovered, 9 Illegal Storage Seized.

The duo was the part of the smuggling racket involving former BSF constable Sumit Kumar alias Noni, who was arrested in July, leading to the unearthing of the Pakistan-backed drugs and arms smuggling cartel. The bike that the drug smugglers were riding had been stolen from the parking lot of a private university, said Gupta.

A case has been registered against them in Kartarpur police station under the various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Arms Act and the Indian Penal Code. The arrest of the BSF constable in July by Punjab police had blown the lid off the Pakistan-backed drugs and arms smuggling racket.

Three others -- Amanpreet Singh, Simaranjeet Singh and Manpreet Singh – too had been arrested in the case. Simranjeet was wanted by the Punjab police in the murder case of a sand gravel businessman of village Hamira in Kapurthala district about 10 months ago in village Dhirpur, the DGP said in a statement.

Sharing further details of the case, Assistant Inspector General Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh of the Counter Intelligence Wing of the Punjab police said the police had earlier arrested Amanpreet Singh of Dhirpur village in a murder case.

“It was found that Amanpreet and his brothers were in contact with one Shah Musa of Pakistan for smuggling drugs across the international border. “During the probe, it further transpired that Amanpreet had come in contact with Shah Musa through BSF constable Sumit,” he said.

The conspiracy to smuggle drugs and weapons from across the border had been hatched in Gurdaspur.

“Sumit was posted at an observation tower at the international border with Pakistan in Samba sector of Jammu from where he kept in constant touch with trans-border smugglers who were further in contact with Shah Musa in Pakistan,” he said in a statement.

The DGP said Sumit had facilitated the entry and delivery of 40 packets of heroin and a 9 mm pistol over the border fence where he was deployed.

“He kept the pistol for himself after delivering the heroin to some unidentified persons. Sumit had received Rs 39 lakh in two instalments of Rs 15 lakh and Rs 24 lakh for allowing the influx of drugs and weapons across the border,” the DGP said.

Khakh said Simranjeet Singh alias Simran, who is Amanpreet Singh's brother, had admitted that he and his brothers had shot dead sand gravel businessman Jagjit Singh of village Hamira. Unlock 5 in Punjab: No Night Curfew, Sunday Lockdown as COVID-19 Cases Decline.

The DGP revealed that three criminal cases were already registered against him while his accomplice Balram Singh is also facing a case under Arms Act registered at Kotwali police station in Kapurthala. He had been released on bail from Kapurthala jail due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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