Chandigarh, April 7 The Punjab Police announced on Tuesday that they had dismantled a narcotics smuggling network backed by Pakistan, with the arrest of four individuals, including a woman, and the recovery of 16.8 kg of heroin from Phagwara in Kapurthala.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the drug trafficking was being organized at the behest of handlers based in Pakistan and Dubai.
The consignment was brought from the Amritsar border area and was intended for delivery in Chandigarh, said Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.
Those arrested have been identified as Balwinder Singh of Pandori Mohalla in Sultanpur Lodhi; Sumanpreet Kaur of Gohalwar in Amritsar; Harpal Singh and Jaskaranbir Singh, both residents of village Dauke in Amritsar.
In addition to recovering the heroin haul, police teams also seized the car in which the suspects were travelling.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish the connections in this case and uncover the entire network.
More arrests and recoveries are likely in the coming days, he added.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police, Kapurthala, Gaurav Toora said that acting on secret information, a trap was laid by the Phagwara Police teams.
"When the police intercepted the suspects' car, the accused attempted to flee, endangering the police party. After a high-speed chase, the police had to fire at the vehicle's tires to bring it to a stop," the SSP said, adding that a subsequent search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 16.8 kg of heroin.
An FIR has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Sadar Phagwara.