2 'most wanted' drug smugglers held in Amritsar: Punjab Police

Chandigarh: A man and his son allegedly involved in the drug trade in Amritsar were arrested with Rs 1 lakh cash in their possession, Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday here.

The two were identified as Amolak Singh and his son Mahabir Singh, both natives of Thatha village in Tarn Taran, Director General of Police Yadav said.

Police also recovered a fake arms licence, one .30 bore pistol, two magazines and 15 live cartridges, and one .306 single barrel Springfield rifle with five live cartridges from their possession.

The development came a little more than a year after Amritsar Commissionerate Police had booked the two under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Seven more, including two brothers Manjit Singh alias Manna and Lavjit Singh alias Lav alias Labh, were arrested earlier with 3 kg of heroin and Rs 5 lakh cash in their possession.

Amolak Singh and his son Mahabir Singh had been absconding since 2015 and were pronounced 'most wanted' by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Mumbai in a 260-kg heroin seizure and Delhi Special Cell in 356-kg heroin seizure.

Yadav said preliminary investigation revealed that Amolak Singh had been operating a drug cartel with his son.

Amolak had been out of jail since 2019 and remained active throughout since, he said, adding, 10 FIRs under the NDPS and Arms Act were registered against him across Punjab.

The DGP said police found the arms licence recovered from their possession to be fake.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that following an intelligence regarding the presence of Amolak and his son Mahabir in the city, police conducted a raid at their residence in Preet Vihar and nabbed them both.

Bhullar said that preliminary investigations have revealed that both had numerous properties in and out of the state, and they used to change their residences frequently to evade arrest.