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Punjab Police's Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) on Friday arrested a drug inspector for his alleged involvement in facilitating drug smuggling operations connected to illegal pharmaceuticals and medical stores and laundering the drug money in the benami accounts in the names of his relatives.
The development came about a month after Punjab Police frozen 24 bank accounts--with a total amount reaching to Rs 7.09 crores--linked to the accused drug inspector, besides seizing huge cash and foreign currency during a series of coordinated raids conducted at different locations in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. In addition to this, two bank lockers were also seized. Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said that following a combination of advanced technical surveillance and human intelligence, police teams from ANTF, headed by Special DGP Kuldeep Singh, have apprehended a drug inspector, identified as Shishan Mittal from Aerocity in SAS Nagar. He said that that preliminary investigation suggested that the accused drug inspector had been regularly in touch with drug smugglers lodged inside the jail and facilitated their drug network outside. Probe also found that the accused drug inspector was travelling to foreign countries frequently without taking permission from the government or availing of ex-India leave, he added. This successful operation by the ANTF reflects its strategic approach to tackling complex criminal networks, said the DGP, while adding that further investigations are ongoing in this case. Permanently, in a notable judicial development, Mittal's anticipatory bail application was recently rejected by the session court, further underscoring the severity of the charges against him. Sharing more details, Special DGP Kuldeep Singh said that the ANTF has recovered Rs 1.49 crores in cash, 260 grammes of gold and 515 dirhams. Furthermore, substantial assets acquired through the proceeds of illegal activities were identified, including flats valued at Rs. 2 crores in Zirakpur and Rs. 40 lakhs in Dabwali, among many others, he added. A case FIR no. 121/2024 had already been registered under section 29 (conspire or abet the commission of offences related to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances) and 59 (a public servant who wilfully supports or abets drug smugglers, or neglects their duties concerning the enforcement of drug laws, can be subjected to severe penalties, including imprisonment) of the NDPS Act and section 111 (organised crime) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in this regard. (ANI)
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