Over 10 kg heroin recovered in Ludhiana

Over 10 kg of heroin, worth more than Rs 50 crore, has been seized from a J&K-based couple who had smuggled in the contraband from Pakistan and were bringing it to supply in Ludhiana, police said Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the Special Task Force (STF) of Ludhiana nabbed Mohammad Arbi (48) and his wife, Jamila Begum (36), on Monday when they were transporting the 10.25 kg heroin in a car, they said.

The accused, residents of Jalallabad Sunjama village falling under the Bathindi police station in Jammu, had hidden the contraband in a bag of walnuts, officials said.

According to them, during preliminary investigation, the couple revealed that the contraband was smuggled in from across the border and they were to supply it in Ludhiana.

"The heroin was supplied by a Pakistan-based supplier through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to his contacts in J&K. Then it was sent to Punjab through drug couriers," Punjab Director General of Police (STF) Mohd Mustafa said Tuesday.

Both the accused had earlier supplied drugs in Punjab, police said, adding that more information about their supplies and other associates would be known during detailed questioning.

Besides, the STF in Patiala also seized 45,500 tablets of drugs like tramadol and arrested two people in this regard.

The Punjab government had set up the STF last year to tackle the problem of drugs in the state.