Narcotics Control Bureau Detains Major Drug Kingpin Under PIT-NDPS Act

Two drug smugglers, Akshay Chhabra and Jaspal Singh, were detained under the PIT-NDPS Act by the Narcotics Control Bureau. The action aims to dismantle a jail-based drug mafia in Punjab. The syndicate had smuggled 1,400 kg of heroin and amassed over Rs 57 crore in properties.

Two drug smugglers have been detained under the PIT-NDPS Act, an official of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) confirmed on Saturday.

Akshay Chhabra and Jaspal Singh are currently held in Dibrugarh jail in Assam. This development follows a similar detention of notorious drug smuggler Balwinder Singh alias Billa Havelian four days earlier.

Billa's detention was the first action initiated by the NCB in Punjab to disrupt the jail-based drugs mafia network in the region. Under the stringent Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, habitual offenders can be detained for up to one year without bail.

Chhabra, considered the kingpin of an international drug syndicate, was arrested at Jaipur airport in November 2022. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Jaspal Singh alias Goldy, also a syndicate member.

The drug syndicate, based in Ludhiana, had smuggled around 1,400 kg of heroin through points such as the Integrated Check Post (ICP) Attari in Punjab and Mundra sea port in Gujarat, stated the NCB. So far, 20 individuals including the kingpin, other traffickers, and two Afghan nationals have been arrested.

The NCB has seized 40 kg of heroin, 557 grams of opium, and busted two heroin processing hideouts in connection with the case. Additionally, properties worth over Rs 57 crore linked to the syndicate have been seized by NCB.

(With inputs from agencies.)