Amritsar, April 10:— The CIA wing of Amritsar Police arrested a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Inspector and seven others for their alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking racket, seizing over four kilograms of heroin and uncovering a second module linked to the operation.
Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar on Thursday said four separate FIRs have been lodged at the Ranjit Avenue and Chheharta police stations following the arrests.
Among those detained is Manjit Singh, a 24-year-old DRI Inspector from Rohtak, Haryana, and Ravi Kumar, 35, of Gandhi Nagar, Ferozepur. “Both were assisting the drug cartel in exchange for easy money,” said Bhullar, adding that a motorcycle used to transport the narcotics was also seized.
“Ravi was in contact with smugglers based across the border,” Bhullar noted. Interrogation of the duo led police to six more individuals suspected of drug smuggling and hawala financing.
The additional suspects have been identified as Palwinder Singh, 34, alias Tindu, of Dhanoa Khurd; Rohit Sharma, 34, of Harkrishan Nagar; Abhishek Singh, 19, of Chogawan; Arshdeep Singh, 19, of Baba Deep Singh Colony in Chheharta; Amit Kumar, 34, alias Sonu, of Sunder Nagar; and Satnam Singh, 26, of Chhidan village in the Lopoke area.
“This second group formed a separate module of the racket,” the police commissioner said. Preliminary findings suggest that Amit Kumar ran a hawala channel to fund cross-border drug movement.
Bhullar said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to identify another suspect and map the wider network of suppliers, couriers and buyers. “We are working to determine the total volume of heroin trafficked by the group,” he said.
