The Delhi Police Saturday said the Anti-Narcotics Task Force of their Crime Branch recently dismantled a drug trafficking cartel operating across Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Mewat, and the Delhi NCR region. The operation resulted in the seizure of 1,667 gram of high-quality heroin, suspected to be of Afghan origin.
Investigators also confiscated 15 mobile phones allegedly containing incriminating data and identified five properties worth approximately Rs 10 crore for financial scrutiny. Freezing orders are being processed, and inputs from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) have been requested to trace financial links among the accused, the police said.
The operation commenced after Faheem Farooq, a 37-year-old resident of Srinagar, was arrested in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar for carrying 996 gram of heroin on February 9. A subsequent search of his rented accommodation in Bhogal led to the seizure of Rs 1.65 lakh in cash. During questioning, Farooq allegedly identified Shazia Peer as his main contact, said the police. Farooq claimed she introduced him to a supplier known as Harry, later identified as Parminder Singh. Farooq alleged that Peer paid him Rs 50,000 per delivery and facilitated the supply of heroin via Murthal in Sonipat.
Following this lead, Peer was traced to and arrested at her residence in Jangpura. According to the police, she admitted to being involved in narcotics distribution and putting Farooq in touch with Harry. Peer stated that she had been active in trafficking for the past two to three years.
“She admitted to being part of a drug trafficking network with associates in Afghanistan, USA, UK, and Punjab, including persons Sohrab, Hafiz, and Harry. The recovered contraband was being received by Shazia through Faheem at the instructions of Hafiz. She further revealed that she used to distribute drugs in retail to customers through one Javed,” said Devesh Shrivastava, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch).
Further investigation led to the arrest of Javed on February 11, who was allegedly involved in the local distribution of narcotics on behalf of Peer. Parminder Singh (also known as Harry), who was identified through surveillance footage and mobile phone analysis, was subsequently arrested in Ludhiana after a covert operation, said the police.
“He was also found in touch with drug traffickers in Pakistan, the UK, and Afghanistan. Upon interrogation, he disclosed a drug smuggling network from Afghanistan to Pakistan to Punjab to Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi. A surveillance operation near Khalsa College in Amritsar based on technical analysis led to the identification of additional traffickers, including Sonu, Salwinder, and Ravi, linked to Lakhwinder aka Landa, a notorious narco-terror fugitive presently in Canada,” said Special CP Shrivastava.
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Ravi Sher Singh and Manjinder Singh were arrested in Tarn Taran in Punjab, after being found in possession of heroin. A subsequent search of Ravi Sher Singh’s residence resulted in the recovery of an additional 299 gram of heroin. The police said that Ravi Sher Singh’s phone contained videos and contacts pointing to drug procurement near the international border. He identified Jashanpreet Singh as another key figure.
Jashanpreet Singh was later apprehended in Narli village under Tarn Taran district. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that 372 gram of heroin were stored at his residence. The police also stated that he had established contact with a supplier through the PUBG mobile application and had previous cases registered under the NDPS Act and the Aircraft Act.