KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
Punjab Police on March 19 dismantled a drug and hawala racket, arresting five individuals, including Iqbal Singh and four unidentified associates and seized 7 kg of opium, three pistols with six magazines, and INR 23.1 lakh in drug money from their possession in Tarn Taran district. During the operation, the accused fired at the police, injuring two officers, who were provided with medical care. Singh confessed to facilitating hawala transactions worth INR 50 crore for Dubai-based drug cartels over the past three months.
As part of Punjab’s ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, Punjab Police on March 19 conducted raids at 567 locations, registered 74 First Information Reports (FIRs), arrested 111 drug smugglers, and seized 3.5 kg of heroin, 1.6 kg of opium, 2,050 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections, and INR 52,310 in drug money from the possession of the arrested smugglers across Punjab.
The Police on March 18 arrested a smuggler, identified as Dharminder Singh alias Sonu, and seized 8.08 kg of heroin along with a .30 bore pistol and five bullets from his possession, near Verka bypass in Amritsar in Amritsar district. During a follow-up operation to recover concealed weapons and contraband, he attempted to snatch a constable’s weapon, prompting the police to fire in self-defence, injuring him. Dharminder was in contact with cross-border smugglers and received drug consignments via drones from Pakistan in the Ajnala sector in Amritsar district in Punjab. The investigation to identify his accomplices is ongoing.
Punjab Police, on March 18, as part of the ongoing “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, conducted raids at 539 locations, registering 61 First Information Reports (FIRs), arresting 95 drug smugglers, and seizing 11 kg of heroin, 7.5 kg of opium, and INR 31,000 in drug money across Punjab.
The Tarn Taran police on March 18 arrested three associates of gangster-turned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh Harike alias Landa, identified as Ajay Mota, Raunak and Deepak, and seized 500 grams of heroin and .30 bore China-made pistols from their possession, in Tarn Taran in Tarn Taran district.
Punjab Police on March 16 conducted raids at 424 locations across the state as part of the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” drive, resulting in the arrest of 63 drug smugglers, registration of 45 First Information Reports (FIRs), and seized 385 grams of heroin, 19 kg of poppy husk, 2,673 intoxicating pills and injections, besides INR 15,600 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers, across Punjab.
The Border Security Force (BSF) and the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC, in a joint operation on March 16 recovered 10 packets of heroin weighing 5.73 kg from near Natha Singh Wala village in Jalalabad West in Fazilka district.
On March 15, on the 15th day of the "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign, Punjab Police conducted raids at 557 locations, arrested of 114 drug smugglers, after the registration of 72 first information reports (FIRs), and seized 945 grams of heroin, 43 kg of poppy husk, 3,098 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections, and INR 76,310 in drug money from the possession of the arrested smugglers, across Punjab.
Kunnamangalam police on March 14 arrested two Tanzanian nationals, Kilekamajenga David Nteme and Myonga Atka Haruna, involved in a series of inter-state synthetic drug trafficking cases, in Phagwara, Kapurthala district, Punjab. The accused, both students at Lovely Professional University, were linked to the seizure of 227 grams of MDMA in Kerala on January 2. Investigations revealed large financial transactions in their accounts, which led to their arrest from a house near their college. Police stated that efforts to target wholesale drug suppliers have disrupted trafficking networks.
The Border Security Force (BSF) on March 14 recovered three packets of heroin weighing 1.7 kg from fields near Awan Vasau village in Ajnala in Amritsar district. An improvised copper wire loop was found attached to each packet indicating that they were smuggled via drones, from across the border.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, while addressing the media in Chandigarh on March 13, stated that the ongoing ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign has yielded significant results, with the arrest of 1,759 drug traffickers and the seizure of over 81 kg of heroin, 51 kg of opium, 7.5 lakh intoxicating tablets, and 970 kg of poppy husk, along with other synthetic drugs, in 13 days across Punjab. Additionally, the properties of 29 individuals associated with drug trafficking have been demolished.
Police on March 13, in a raid, arrested five unidentified drug peddlers and seized 3 grams of heroin, 325 intoxicating pills and INR 1.35 lakh in drug money along with three scooters, four motorcycles and a Maruti car from their possession, in Baazigar Basti in Dhuri in Sangrur district. The raids, were part of the ongoing 'War Against Drugs' campaign. The Police warned drug peddlers to either quit the trade or leave the state, assuring support for those willing to reform.
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on March 13 arrested a smuggler, identified as Kuldeep Singh and seized five packets of heroin weighing 2.6 kg from his possession, near Lakha Singh Wala village in Ferozepur district. The operation was launched based on a tip-off, and the recovered packets, wrapped in yellow adhesive tape with nylon threads and illumination strips, indicated that the consignment was dropped using a drone from across the border.
The Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation with Punjab Police on March 13 recovered one packet of heroin weighing 549 grams, from fields near Wan village in Patti in Tarn Taran district.
Punjab Police on March 12 conducted raids at 543 locations, arresting 118 drug smugglers and registering 71 First Information Reports (FIRs), arrested 118 drug smugglers and seized 994 grams of heroin, 4,633 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections, and INR 1.47 lakh in drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers, across Punjab. The Police stated that they will continue such operations as part of a three-pronged strategy—Enforcement, De-addiction, and Prevention (EDP)—to eradicate drugs from Punjab.
Punjab Police on March 11 raided 580 locations across the state, arresting 110 drug smugglers and seizing 2.8 kg of heroin, 500 grams of opium, 10,904 intoxicant tablets/pills/injections, and INR 2.88 lakh in drug money. A total of 68 First Information Reports (FIRs) were also registered.
The Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation with Punjab Police on March 11, recovered a 523-gram packet of heroin from fields near Wan village in Patti in Tarn Taran district.
Police on March 11 arrested two individuals, Neeraj Kumar alias Bobby and his wife Komal Ghahi, and seized 6 grams of heroin from their possession in Sherpur Bet village in Ludhiana district. The raid turned violent when Neeraj attacked Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Sukhwinder Singh, biting his arm and striking him with a metal spring. Neeraj’s father, Kulwant Kumar, attempted to obstruct the police and locked them inside the house before fleeing. While Neeraj and Komal were arrested, a manhunt has been launched to apprehend Kulwant.
Punjab Police arrested international drug trafficker Shehnaz Singh alias Shawn in Ludhiana, Ludhiana district on March 10. Wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Shawn was allegedly smuggling cocaine from Colombia to the United States (US) and Canada under the guise of a trucking business. He was linked to a massive drug bust in the US on February 26, 2025, involving 391 kg of methamphetamine and 109 kg of cocaine.
Amritsar Police dismantled a drug cartel on March 10, arresting four smugglers—Tarsem Singh alias Sema, Amrit Singh alias Abhi, Ramanjit Singh alias Raman, and a juvenile— and seizing 4.01 kg of heroin, INR 20,000 in drug money, and three motorcycles, in Chheharta, Amritsar district. he accused were linked to Pakistan-based smugglers using the Ferozepur sector for cross-border drug trafficking. The juvenile played a key role, using boats to retrieve drug consignments near the International Border (IB).
Police arrested a woman, identified as Paramjit Kaur, and seized 80 grams of heroin from her possession in Abohar, Fazilka district, on March 10.
Police on March 10 arrested two individuals, identified as Rohit Kumar Rinki and Sonu and seized 40 grams of heroin from their possession, in Abohar in Fazilka district.
Police on March 10 arrested an individual, identified as Prahlad Kumar and seized 4 grams of heroin from his possession, in Jandwala Hanwanta village in Fazilka district.
Police on March 10 arrested Tejinder Singh, a drug peddler associated with the Bambiha gang, after a brief encounter, seizing a cache of narcotic tablets and an unlicensed firearm from his possession, in Rajpura in Patiala district.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on March 9 stated that under the “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, 1,188 drug traffickers had been arrested, 875 FIRs registered, and 68 kg heroin, 873 kg poppy husk, 42 kg opium, 3.5 kg charas, 6,74,370 intoxicating tablets, and INR 35 lakh drug money seized since the campaign's launch on February 25. Cheema blamed previous SAD-BJP and Congress governments for Punjab’s drug crisis, highlighting AAP's 86% conviction rate. He also stressed awareness efforts, including student outreach and action against traffickers.