Punjab Police Crackdown: Repeat Offender Gurdeep Singh Detained

Punjab Police's Anti-Narcotic Task Force has detained Gurdeep Singh, a notorious drug smuggler under the PIT-NDPS Act, for year-long monitoring. His illicit assets worth Rs 7.80 crore have been frozen. He is a repeat offender with links to cross-border networks and has several charges against him.

Punjab Police's Anti-Narcotic Task Force has executed preventive detention orders against Gurdeep Singh, a known drug smuggler, under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, announced Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday.

Gurdeep, also known as Raano Sarpanch and from the village of Raano in Ludhiana, has been transferred from Central Jail Kapurthala to Central Jail Bathinda for strict monitoring over the next year under the Act's provisions. This marks the second instance of preventive detention exercised by the authorities under section 3 of the PIT-NDPS Act, meant to curb the trade of narcotics.

Previously, a notorious smuggler, Avtar Singh alias Tari, had also been detained for two years using similar provisions. The police investigation revealed Gurdeep's associations with other smugglers and culminated in the freezing of assets worth Rs 7.80 crore. Gurdeep is involved in cross-border smuggling, with multiple previous cases including heroin and numerous luxury items seized.

(With inputs from agencies.)