Ludhiana: 11 held, ₹2 lakh recovered as Khanna police bust drug network
Khanna Police on Friday have arrested 11 people — including two women — who were part of a large heroin and illegal weapons network spread across different states.
Although only a small amount of heroin and one illegal weapon were recovered during the raid, police said the accused were part of a much bigger inter-state drug racket. The police also recovered ₹2 lakh in cash believed to be drug money and seized two vehicles — a Fortuner SUV and a Swift car.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jagpreet Singh alias Jagga of Sherpur Taiba of Moga, Gursewak Singh of Moga, Jagrup Singh and Jass Singh of Jogewala of Ferozepur, Prakash Gupta of Kharar, Mohammad Yasin of Sambhal of UP, Vanshika Thakur alias Mehak of Dehradun, Tanu of Bhindar Kalan of Moga, Lovepreet Singh alias LP of Daukke of Amritsar, Hardeep Singh alias Deepa of Ghall Khurd of Ferozepur and Gurlal Singh of Karnal of Haryana.
Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jyoti Yadav Bains said the breakthrough came when a joint team from Samrala police and Khanna's CIA unit stopped a Fortuner SUV near a checkpoint. The vehicle was coming from Chandigarh towards Ludhiana. In the car were Jagpreet (driver), Gursewak, Jagrup, and Jass. After checking, police found 10 grams of heroin. All four were arrested under the NDPS Act at Samrala police station.
During questioning, police learned that Jagpreet was the kingpin running the operation. Based on his information, police recovered a country-made .32 bore pistol and arrested two of his associates — Hardeep and Gurlal. The rest of the accused were arrested following the information provided by Jagpreet Singh.
Communication via Indian and foreign WhatsApp numbers
The SSP said the group used both Indian and foreign WhatsApp numbers to plan drug deliveries and share pickup points. Jagpreet was in regular contact with Prakash Gupta, Mohammad Yasin, Vanshika Thakur, and Tanu, who helped him collect and distribute drugs from rented flats in Kharar. Jagpreet paid the rent for both flats.
These associates would take orders from Jagpreet, collect drug consignments, and deliver them. The payments were made via Google Pay and deposited into Tanu's bank account. Bank records show transactions between ₹5 to ₹9 lakh per month, confirming the drug money trail.
SSP Bains confirmed that five of the accused already have criminal records. Police are now investigating their past and current links to other gangs or drug suppliers.
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