SRINAGAR: Pathankot police on Thursday apprehended two individuals in possession of 153 kg of poppy husk, being smuggled to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The incident took place at Kandrodi Morr Nangal village of Pathankot, reported Hindustan Times.
The arrested suspects have been identified as Sahil Bhatia and Taranjeet Singh from SBS Nagar.
The police, as per Hindustan Times revealed to that the accused were en route to J&K to carry out the drug smuggling operation under the instructions of the notorious jailed gangster, Preet Sekhon.
Notably, Preet Sekhon is involved in around 20 criminal cases, including one where an Akali leader and his aide were shot dead in Patti back in 2019. Despite being in jail, Sekhon was running the drug nexus and maintaining contact with some J&K-based smugglers.
The arrest was made after the SHO Nangal Bhur, acting on a tip-off about a Canter with registration number PB-29-X-1105, suspected of carrying narcotics into Pathankot from Mukerian side, led his team to intercept the vehicle.
The police team apprehended the driver and his associate, seizing 153 kg of poppy husk concealed in plastic bags.
During the initial investigation, it was revealed that Taranjit Singh had connections with the infamous gangster Preet Sekhon and Sonu Roadmajara. He provided logistical support to them and had ties with numerous poppy smugglers in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
Gangster Sekhon utilised Taranjit’s mobile phone even while incarcerated. The investigation highlighted that Taranjit’s association with the poppy smugglers of J&K was solely through the aforementioned gangster.
The arrested individuals, Sahil Bhatia and Taranjit Singh, will be produced in the local court, and the police will seek their remand. The investigation aims to thoroughly examine their supply chain and ascertain their forward and backward linkages, said the report.
A case under the NDPS Act has been lodged against them for possession and transportation of the illegal substance.
