Amritsar, 30 June

Amritsar Commissionerate Police, with the support of Border Security Force (BSF) and Rajasthan Police, dismantled a major international drug cartel operated by Pakistan based smuggler and Canada based handler and recovered a huge consignment of heroin from near the International Border in Barmer, Rajasthan, Police official said on Monday.

In a post on X, DGP Punjab police Gaurav Yadav shared, "In a massive crackdown, #Amritsar Commissionerate Police, with the support of BSF and Rajasthan Police, dismantles a major international drug cartel operated by Pak-based smuggler Tanveer Shah and Canada based handler Joban Kaler and recovers a huge consignment of 60.302Kg Heroin from near the International Border in Barmer, Rajasthan."

"Nine key operatives and hawala operators arrested from across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. Punjab Police Ind remains resolute in its commitment to dismantle international drug syndicates and protect Punjab from narco-terror," the post further shared.

Earlier, Punjab Police, marking 120 days since Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann launched the "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign to eliminate the drug menace, arrested 114 drug smugglers and recovered 4.1kg of heroin along with Rs 9.6 lakh in drug proceeds on Sunday. This brings the total number of smugglers apprehended under the initiative to 19,735.

The operation, ordered by Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, was carried out simultaneously across all 28 police districts of the state.Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla reported that over 180 police teams- comprising more than 1,100 personnel and supervised by 85 gazetted officers- raided 367 locations, registered 77 first information reports (FIRs) and checked 399 suspicious persons during the day-long drive.Under the campaign's three-pronged Enforcement, De-addiction and Prevention (EDP) strategy, Punjab Police also convinced 54 individuals to enter de-addiction and rehabilitation programs.

In a parallel effort, police inspected 332 pharmaceutical shops across six districts-Commissionerate Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Jalandhar Rural, Kapurthala and Rupnagar, to ensure compliance with regulations and prevent the sale of intoxicant or habit-forming drugs.