750 smugglers' assets worth Rs 300 crore frozen in 15 months: Punjab DGP
Chandigarh, May 31
Punjab Police have dismantled the financial infrastructure of organised drug trafficking networks over the past 15 months, striking a major blow to narco-hawala syndicates by freezing illicit assets of 750 drug smugglers valued at Rs 300 crore, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Sunday.
"The Punjab Police force has systematically shifted its focus from mere street-level seizures to dismantling the broader economic infrastructure that funds cross-border smuggling," an official statement quoting the DGP said.
Since the launch of the anti-drug drive, Punjab Police have been conducting simultaneous operations every day across all 28 police districts.
DGP Yadav highlighted that since the launch of the drive, Punjab Police have registered 46,937 first information reports (FIRs) under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and arrested 65,884 people.
The enforcement operations have led to massive contraband recoveries, including 2,950 kg of heroin, 792 kg of opium, 666 quintals of poppy husk, 71 kg of charas, 986 kg of ganja, 56 kg of ICE, and 55 lakh intoxicant pills and tablets.
Besides narcotics seizures, the police have also recovered Rs 20 crore in drug money from the accused.
A major breakthrough under the drive has been the aggressive targeting of clandestine hawala channels that move huge profits to foreign handlers and Pakistani suppliers, the DGP said, adding that these networks operate through shell companies, encrypted applications such as WhatsApp and Signal, and virtual international numbers.
To counter these sophisticated evasion tactics, DGP Yadav said Punjab Police have established Financial Investigation Units (FIUs) in every district to assist investigating officers.
This structural upgrade has led to the arrest of 65 hawala operators and the recovery of Rs 8.85 crore in hawala money.
In one of the most significant operations, a major financial disruption was achieved through the recovery and freezing of assets worth Rs 5.09 crore linked to Sharma Forex Money Exchange in Phagwara, which allegedly laundered money under the guise of driver salary payments for a Pakistan-based handler through UAE channels, he said.
Highlighting another critical node in the cross-border network, DGP Yadav said police teams recovered Rs 20.55 lakh from a Bikaner-based operator in Ludhiana who managed advance payments from Pakistan to fund drug couriers.
Similarly, in Amritsar, a narco-arms nexus was exposed with the recovery of Rs 1.24 crore in Indian currency along with foreign currency, the DGP added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Impressive numbers - 46,937 FIRs and 65,884 arrests! I'm an expat living in Chandigarh and it's heartening to see the police going after the hawala networks instead of just petty dealers. The cross-border angle with Pakistan is concerning though.
Good work but I have a doubt - if they caught 65,884 people, how many actually got convicted? Often these cases get stuck in courts for years and accused walk free on bail. Need faster judicial process too. Still, kudos to Punjab Police for the effort! 💪
The Sharma Forex case is fascinating - laundering money through driver salary payments to Pakistan via UAE. These syndicates are getting really creative with their shell companies and encrypted apps. Glad to see the FIUs are adapting to counter this.
My cousin in Malwa region says drugs are still easily available in many villages. Freezing assets is good, but what about grassroots prevention? Schools and colleges need awareness programs. Also, what about the drug lords who operate from outside India? They need to be extradited.
Rs 20 crore in drug money recovered and Rs 300 crore frozen - that's significant but I wonder what percentage of the total illicit drug economy this represents. The narco-hawala network is probably worth thousands of crores. Still, every crore counts!
D