Five held with 26 kg of heroin in Punjab

Tarn Taran (Punjab), March 21 : Five people were arrested with 26 kg of heroin, worth nearly Rs.130 crore, after a gun battle with police in this Punjab district. Five policemen were injured in the gunfight, an official said Sunday.

"After getting a tip-off from our source, we laid a trap here in Harike town and intercepted an SUV car, in which the accused were travelling. They immediately started firing at us and we had to retaliate. We managed to arrest five of them while one of them fled from the spot," said a police official.

"Five of our officials suffered injuries during the encounter (gun battle). They have been admitted to a hospital and their condition is out of danger," the official said.

One Chinese-made pistol was also recovered from them, he added.

Tarn Taran is around 280 km from the state capital Chandigarh and the district borders Pakistan.