Punjab’s anti-drug force captures top smuggler

Chandigarh: In yet another effort to root out the drug menace, Punjab’s Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) and the Gurdaspur Police have executed the orders of preventive detention of a top drug smuggler identified as Avtar Singh alias Tari of border village Shahur Kalan in Gurdaspur district for two years.

Special provisions under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act were used, said director general of police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.

This is the first case of preventive detention in which orders have been issued by the competent authority under Sections 3(1) and 10 of the PIT-NDPS Act.

The Section 3 of Act empowers the government to take such drug smugglers into preventive custody to prevent them from engaging in illicit traffic of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. “This marks Punjab’s first successful use of the stringent provisions of the PIT-NDPS Act, which allows for preventive detention in narcotics-related cases,” said Yadav in a post on X.

The DGP said that accused Tari has been detained under the Act for two years and sent to central jail in Bathinda, showcasing Punjab’s ongoing efforts to curb the drug problem and make the state drug-free. As per the information, Tari had been smuggling heroin across the state and country.

Yadav said that Tari has been involved in smuggling 231kg of heroin and has been actively involved in drug business with Pak-based smugglers.