Striking a blow to the trans-border narcotic smuggling networks, the Punjab Police has busted a drug smuggling cartel with the arrest of two kingpins and recovered 10 kg heroin and a sophisticated drone from their possession, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Sunday.

The arrested smugglers — Dalbir and Jagdish, both residents of Gharinda in Amritsar — were engaged in drug trafficking for the last three years and have no criminal case registered against them.

Yadav said the Amritsar Rural police led by SSP Swapan Sharma, in an intelligence-based operation, busted the drug smuggling cartel, which had been smuggling contraband to other states, including Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, after procuring it from across the border using drones.

He said the US-made drone recovered from them is a DJI series drone of Rs 20 lakh having hi-tech features, including long-lasting battery backup and an infrared-based night vision camera.

This is the fifth such drone recovered in less than a month, the DGP added.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sharma said both the smugglers had a well-oiled distribution network in the neighbouring states, adding police teams have been conducting raids at 12 locations in Haryana and Delhi, and more contraband seizures will follow.

The Amritsar Rural police have seized 39 kg of heroin in the past five months. Tight vigil along the second line of defence and close coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) authorities has resulted in these huge seizures.

It has also recovered five drones in a month.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed.)