Police in Ludhiana, Punjab, have claimed to have busted an international drugs syndicate with the seizure of six kilograms of heroin and the arrest of three smugglers.
Ludhiana (Punjab), Aug 23 : Police in Ludhiana, Punjab, have claimed to have busted an international drugs syndicate with the seizure of six kilograms of heroin and the arrest of three smugglers.
Officials said the racket spanned Malaysia, Pakistan and Europe, and added that the consignment is worth over 60 million rupees in the international market.
"They go to Malaysia, and there, they have a system to arrange for visas to Pakistan. They have sympathizers in France and Belgium. So, they go with a Jatha (pilgrimage) to Europe where they meet these sympathizers and then these sympathizers come to Pakistan," said Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Senior Superintendent of Police.
Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap on Monday and arrested two suspects with the heroin haul. Another accomplice was arrested on Tuesday.
Sukhwinder Singh, the main accused, said the deal to ferry the narcotics was struck in Pakistan.
"I had gone to Pakistan where I met a smuggler named Lawa Singh. I spoke with him and struck a deal to supply heroin," he said.
According to anti-narcotics agencies, India, wedged between two major drug-producing regions, the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent, is a major transit point for drug smuggling to the West where returns are lucrative.
The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around 350,000 square kilometres that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia - Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.
The Golden Crescent is the name given to Asia's principal area of illicit opium production, located at the crossroads of Central, South, and Western Asia. This space overlaps three nations, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, whose mountainous peripheries define the crescent.
ANI