In a crackdown on trans-border smuggling, Punjab Police’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and the Border Security Force (BSF) seized 19.980kg of heroin in Amritsar on Tuesday. Four persons, including a key operative and a 17-year-old juvenile, have been apprehended.
The arrested adults have been identified as Sahibjit Singh, Rajwinder Singh, and Ashu Sharma—all residents of Amritsar. Police also impounded a Maruti Brezza and two motorcycles used by the suspects.
Acting on intelligence that the group was retrieving a consignment smuggled via a drone, joint teams intercepted the accused at a strategic checkpoint. Following their interrogation, the heroin—packed in five large packets—was recovered from agricultural fields near Bhindi Aulakh village, close to the Ghogga border outpost (BOP).
ANTF Border Range superintendent of police Gurpreet Singh said: “Reliable information was received that the accused had gone towards the border area to retrieve a heroin consignment smuggled via a drone. Acting swiftly on the input, a joint team of the ANTF and the BSF laid a naka at a strategic location and intercepted all four accused.”
Director general of police Gaurav Yadav said that the preliminary probe links the accused to Pakistan-based handlers who coordinate regional distribution. This recovery is part of an intensified crackdown on the drone-drop method along the border.
An FIR has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at the ANTF police station in Mohali. Investigation is focused on tracing the complete supply route and dismantling the wider cross-border network.
Recent heroin hauls in Punjab
Punjab accounts for 44.5% of India’s total heroin recoveries.
December 31, 2025: 4kg heroin and 1kg ICE seized from a Pakistan-linked ring in Amritsar.
December 27: 5kg Pakistan-sourced haul intercepted in Fazilka.
November 22: 50kg recovered from an ISI-backed module in Ferozepur; Kapurthala smuggler held.
October 8: 16kg consignment recovered from two Amritsar-based smugglers held ahead of bypolls.
August 29: 7kg recovered from a crashed hexacopter drone in Ferozepur.
May 16: 85kg, the biggest seizure of 2025, in Tarn Taran linked to a UK-based handler.
February 14: 30kg drone-drop retrieved in Gharinda area of Amritsar.
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