New Delhi: The investigation into a recent drug trafficking racket busted by the crime branch has revealed a barter system where opium was being trafficked to Canada and weapons were being procured in return.The nexus was headed by designated Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dala, the successor to slain terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.Confirming the development, special CP (crime) HGS Dhaliwal said the trafficking proceeds were being used to finance the operations of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), currently headed by Dala. The probe found that arms were being smuggled into Punjab through cross-border drone drops in lieu of the opium which was being trafficked through a courier firm in Delhi.“The syndicate had been sending opium concealed in food consignments and garments using forged KYC documents and encrypted communication,” Dhaliwal added. The revelations were made after the cops arrested four drug traffickers in a month-long operation and seized over 5,800 grams of the contraband. The suspects have revealed that the opium fetched them a much higher value in Canada compared to India and thus became their choice of contraband.The breakthrough came when police got a tip-off that certain members of an organised syndicate were concealing commercial quantities of opium inside export consignments destined for Canada by using forged KYC documents and fictitious consignor details.A team of ACP Bhagwati Prasad and inspector Arvind Kumar raided the office of a courier company in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar. “This is where the suspicious export parcel was identified and intercepted before its dispatch abroad. On examination, the parcel, which had been declared as containing ordinary food articles, was found to have a fabricated false bottom containing around 3 kg of opium,” joint CP (crime) Surender Kumar said.The cops then traced the courier chain, identifying the persons involved in booking and dispatching the parcel.Using technical surveillance, raids were conducted in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, resulting in the apprehension of key conspirators and interception of additional export consignments. The arrested men were identified as Simranjeet Singh, Hardeep Singh, Yadvinder Singh alias Jashan Sandhu and Jivan Singh.The investigation also led to the recovery of 921 grams of opium from another parcel destined for Canada, followed by the recovery of 1,196 grams of opium from a third export consignment and 23 grams of opium from Simranjeet. Interrogation of the arrested persons, coupled with the forensic examination of seized mobile phones and analysis of encrypted communications, revealed the existence of an organised syndicate . The police have now tightened the noose around Dala and his associates in India. More arrests are likely.
