Amritsar Jail warden among three held for drug smuggling, supply

Chandigarh, Oct 10 (IANS) In another breakthrough against trans-border narcotic smuggling in Punjab, the Amritsar Police Commissionerate have arrested three people after recovering 4.5 kg heroin and Rs 4.32 lakh drug money from their possession, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Thursday.

Those arrested include a jail warden who supplied drugs to inmates of the Central Jail, Amritsar.

The accused have been identified as brothers Akashdeep Singh and Satwinderpal Singh, residents of Amritsar, while the jail warden has been identified as Gurmej Singh, a resident of Moga. The latter used to supply heroin to prisoners.

The development came a day after Amritsar Commissionerate Police arrested three drug smugglers after recovering 5 kg heroin and Rs 3.95 lakh drug money from their possession.

DGP Yadav said preliminary investigations have revealed that Akashdeep Singh and Satinderpal Singh were directly in touch with Pakistan-based drug smugglers, who were using drones to transport drugs across the border. He said during questioning, the duo revealed that they used to supply heroin to the jail warden to supply it to drug smugglers in the jail.

Technical leads were developed in a professional investigation and a first information report (FIR) has been registered under the NDPS Act, he said, adding investigations are ongoing to establish the backward and forward linkages in this case.

Sharing details, Commissioner of Police (Amritsar) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said acting on a tip-off that the brothers had retrieved a huge consignment of narcotics, dropped using a drone, from across the border and concealed it at their residence in Guru Hargobindpura, Chheharta, police teams laid a trap and arrested both the drug smugglers from a house in near Dera Radha Soami in Guru Hargobindpura. He said following their revelations regarding the connivance of the jail warden, police teams have also arrested Gurmej Singh from the Fatehpur area of Amritsar. He said the preliminary investigation has revealed that the jail warden was acting as a mediator for drug smugglers sitting inside the jail.