A "most wanted" narcotics dealer linked to a Pakistan-based operative was on Thursday arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau from Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, the central agency said.
Jasbir Singh, 35, alias Momi/Boss was held after a sustained operation conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), following the recovery of over 56 kg of heroin from along the India-Pakistan International Border (IB) in the border district of Bikaner, in the intervening hours of June 2-3.
The seizure was made by troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) and it had called this catch the "highest ever" recovery of drugs from the IB in Rajasthan till date.
The agency said Singh was a "habitual offender" and was absconding since 2019.
The NCB followed up on this drugs recovery case and filed a complaint under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and went on to arrest five people from various locations of Punjab and Rajasthan.
"The receivers of the contraband had fled from the spot (on June 3) and could not be apprehended. The case was handed over to NCB unit based in Jodhpur," a senior officer said.
He added that this operation has "inter-state as well as international ramifications" and the suspected supplier of the heroin seized by the BSF is a man named Malik Choudhary of Lahore in Pakistan.
The officer said the probe in the case is ongoing and the NCB is working to “break the nexus of the drug syndicate operating internationally".
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