Chandigarh, Sep 21 (PTI) Punjab Police's Anti Narcotic Task Force (ANTF), in a joint operation with a central agency, has busted a major drug trafficking syndicate with the arrest of 10 persons, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Saturday.
Those arrested have been identified as Chandan Sharma, Akash Sharma, Vishal Singh, Arvinder Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Rinku Thapar, Bharat, Divyam, Pratham, and Ankush Bhatti.
The police also recovered one kg heroin, 381 grams charas, three pistols including one sophisticated pistol along with 62 live cartridges and two empty shells, Rs 48.7 lakh cash, 262 grams of gold and electronic devices from their possession.
Yadav said the accused were operating the drug network and running operations in Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana.
A probe revealed that after smuggling drugs into the state from across the border, the accused used to send money to Pakistan-based drug smugglers via the 'hawala' route, he added.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused Lovepreet, a resident of Amritsar, was the key member managing the entire drug network of this syndicate.
The police also found a hidden closet at the house of Lovepreet, where he used to conceal all the smuggled narcotics and money, besides using it as a safe shelter for himself, he added.