Punjab: Army man, dismissed cop arrested for running Pak-backed drug cartel

Chandigarh: Punjab Police on Sunday dismantled a cross-border heroin trafficking syndicate with the arrest of six individuals, including a serving member of the Indian Army and a dismissed police official.

The arrests concluded a two-month operation led by the Faridkot Police that utilised jail-based communications intercepts to track the group’s activities. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav confirmed that authorities recovered 4.8 kilograms of heroin, an illegal firearm, and two luxury SUVs, a Mahindra Thar and an XUV-500, used in the distribution of the narcotics.

"In a major breakthrough, Faridkot Police, after a two-month-long jail-based interception, busts a well-organised heroin trafficking network," Yadav stated in a social media post. He noted that the traffickers maintained direct ties with smugglers in Pakistan who used drones to deliver heroin into Indian territory.

Sophisticated Modus Operandi

Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pragya Jain detailed how the group utilised institutional access to bypass law enforcement. Among those apprehended was Jarnail Singh, a Ludhiana native currently serving in the Indian Army, and Amardeep Singh, also known as "Boxer," a former Punjab Armed Police employee dismissed in 2021.

Jain said the suspects allegedly used their official identification cards to clear security checkpoints and toll plazas without suspicion. The group also included two women, identified as Dimple Rani and Ramandeep Kaur, who travelled with the men to provide a "family" appearance and deflect police scrutiny.

"The involvement of a serving Army personnel and a former police official points to a sophisticated network capable of exploiting institutional knowledge for drug trafficking," Jain told reporters.

Jail-Linked Mastermind

Investigations identified "Boxer" as the ringleader, noting his history as a habitual offender with nine prior criminal cases. Furthermore, police discovered the module was receiving instructions from an inmate currently in a Punjab prison using an illicit mobile phone.

"A jailed person is involved in the module. We will bring him on a production warrant and gather more information," Jain said, though his identity was withheld to protect the ongoing probe.

Detailed Takedown

The operation began in the early hours of February 21, when police intercepted the Thar SUV carrying Jarnail Singh and three others, seizing 1.08 kilograms of heroin. Interrogations led officers to Boxer and Dimple Rani, who were found with an additional 3.7 kilograms of the drug. The heroin packets were equipped with hooks, a signature of drone-dropped deliveries.

The arrested individuals also include Moga residents Sarabjit Singh and Amritpal Singh. All six suspects remain in police custody as investigators shift their focus toward identifying local distribution hubs and handlers operating from Pakistan.

With inputs from PTI