Amritsar, April 19: A cross-border hawala racket linked to narcotics smuggling has been busted by the Amritsar city police, leading to the arrest of five individuals, including a Ludhiana-based police constable and a dry fruit trader from Haryana. The racket was allegedly operated on behalf of US-based drug trafficker Joban Kaler and gangster Gopi Chhogawan, officials said.
Police also seized Rs 46.91 lakh in hawala cash during the crackdown, which followed the arrest of a drug smuggler with a heroin consignment earlier this month.
“Investigations began after we apprehended Satnam Singh with 1 kg of heroin on April 9,” Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said. Singh, a resident of Chhina village under Lopoke police station, reportedly disclosed information that led officers to three others — Rajanjot Singh alias Rajan, Gurpreet Singh alias Gora, and Anil Saini, who was operating the hawala channel under the cover of a dry fruit business.
Based on further disclosures by Gurpreet Singh, police later arrested Harmeet Singh and Constable Navjot Singh, posted in Ludhiana.
All five accused were allegedly involved in routing drug proceeds through informal hawala channels in exchange for heroin being delivered from Pakistan using drones. The money transfers were verified via photographs of Rs 10 and Rs 20 note serial numbers shared over encrypted social media platforms, police said.
“During questioning of Saini, Navjot, and Harmeet, it became clear that the entire operation was being coordinated by Kaler and Chhogawan from the United States,” Bhullar noted, adding that the breakthrough has “effectively dismantled a key link between narcotics and hawala money.”
Those arrested have been identified as Rajanjot Singh of Kamla Avenue, Gurpreet Singh of Mahawa village near the border, Harmeet Singh of Sadar quarters, Constable Navjot Singh of Max City on Ram Tirath Road, and Anil Saini from Bhawani, Haryana.
Further investigation is in progress to determine the scale of narcotics smuggled through this network and identify the full chain of suppliers, distributors, and buyers involved.
