Shimla, February 14 Himachal Pradesh Police has arrested a key drug supplier allegedly involved in procuring and distributing chitta (adulterated heroin) here, including sourcing the contraband from areas near the India-Nepal border, officials said on Saturday.
The accused, Vijender Singh alias Chottu, from Sundha Bhonda village in Chirgaon area of the district, was a key distributor in a major drug network, police said.
Addressing a press conference here, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abhishek said the accused procured chitta from Punjab and supplied it in Rohru and Chirgaon areas through multiple channels.
On February 2, police here arrested two Punjab residents, Jashandeep Singh and Dharampreet Singh, with 83 grams of chitta from Mehandli in Rohru, he said.
During investigation, police analysed their bank transactions and other digital evidence, leading to the arrest of three more alleged drug peddlers, Ashish Chauhan (24), Naveen Shitta (31) and Diwan Chand (39), from Chirgaon, the ASP said.
The officer said that Jashandeep revealed that Vijender was his main supplier in the region and that the contraband was sold across the district through a network of channels.
He said Vijender had fled to Nepal to evade arrest, and a special operation was launched with assistance from Uttarakhand and Nepal Police.
The team arrested him from the Banbasa area near the India-Nepal border, the ASP added.
Vijender has been involved in drug trafficking for several years, and three cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 were earlier registered against him in 2018, 2019 and 2022, he added.