Ludhiana car trader, aide land in net with ₹44L, 3.1kg opium

The special task force (STF) of the Ludhiana police arrested a car trader and his accomplice with 3.1kg opium and ₹44 lakh drug money on Saturday late.

The STF had arrested the accused — Raman Dhawan, 37, of Chhabra Colony, and his accomplice, Nitin Khurana, 36, of Model Town — near Chhabra Colony at Pakhowal Road following a tip-off when they were on their way to deliver the contraband in a Hyundai Creta car. The STF has also seized the car.

The arrest comes close on the heels of a major drug haul wherein Punjab’s anti-drugs STF had seized nearly 190kg heroin from a house in Sultanwind area of Amritsar that was running a heroin refining and processing unit and arrested four persons, including an Afghan man.

Sourced opium from UP

Ludhiana STF in-charge inspector Harbans Singh said Raman is into the business of selling used cars, while Nitin sells glass and plywood. “The accused are drug addicts and have been peddling for the past three years to fund their addiction,” Singh said.

The inspector added that the accused smuggled opium from Uttar Pradesh. “Raman was in touch with the supplier through Whatsapp calling. The supplier used to deliver the consignment to them in Ludhiana, following which they sold it among the addicts,” Singh said.

“The accused had planned a pilgrimage after delivering the consignment on Sunday, but were nabbed minutes after they left their house on Saturday late,” Singh said.

A case under Sections 18, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered against the accused at the STF police station in Mohali.

The accused were produced before the court, which remanded them in two-day police custody.