Chandigarh, 21 October, 2024: Three notorious Ludhiana drug lords—Akshay Chhabra, Jaspal Singh (alias Goldy), and Balwinder Singh (alias Billa Havellian)—have been ordered to serve one-year detention in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail. This decision was made by a three-member advisory board under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, following their involvement in a massive 20,400 kg heroin smuggling racket spanning Punjab, Gujarat’s Mundra port, Jammu and Kashmir, and Afghanistan.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Chandigarh zone dismantled the syndicate, and in August, the three suspects were transferred to Dibrugarh jail under the PITNDPS Act. An NCB spokesperson confirmed that the advisory board, which included Justice Ajit Borthakur, Bikram Choudhary, and Padmadhar Nayak, reviewed their detention earlier this week. “Their one-year detention will be counted from August when they were first apprehended,” said the spokesperson, adding that the move aims to disrupt their extensive drug trafficking network.
Chhabra, identified as the kingpin of the racket, was arrested at Jaipur International Airport in November 2022 while trying to flee to Sharjah, UAE. His syndicate, which involved 21 people, including two Afghan nationals, was notorious for smuggling heroin into India. The drugs were concealed in cans of tomato sauce or bottles of pomegranate juice imported from Afghanistan and Iran, sources revealed.
Officials disclosed that 612 cans of tomato sauce from Afghanistan and 350 juice bottles from Iran were found to contain heroin. These cans had special markings to differentiate them from legitimate products. Even while imprisoned in Punjab jails, Chhabra and Goldy allegedly continued running illegal operations, leading to several additional FIRs.
Balwinder Singh, the third member of the smuggling trio, is said to have extensive links with Pakistan-based drug syndicates. He faces numerous NDPS-related charges and has been implicated in serious offenses, including attempted murder.
