NIA freezes Rs 1.34 crore seized from premises of Punjab-based drug smuggling accused

NIA freezes Rs 1.34 crore seized from premises of Punjab-based drug smuggling accused
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has frozen Rs 1.34 crore, which was seized from the premises of Punjab-based Amritpal Singh, who has been accused of drug smuggling.

A resident of Tarn Taran, Amritpal was charge sheeted in a case registered in April 2022 following the seizure of 102.7 kg heroin, by the customs department, NIA sources said.

According to the NIA, the heroin consignment purportedly from Afghanistan entered India through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, Amritsar, on April 22 last year. The contraband was ingeniously concealed in a shipment of licorice root (mulethi).

NIA sources said the probe revealed that Rs 1.34 crore seized from the premises of Singh was “proceeds of drugs”. Singh facilitated the transfer of funds from 2019 to 2021, depositing them directly into the bank accounts of accused individuals Shahid Ahmed alias Qazi Abdul Wadood and Razi Haider Zaidi.

Additionally, funds were surreptitiously channelled through hawala transactions, sources said. The cash seized from the premises of Singh has been frozen under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The case, which was initially registered by the customs department, was later taken over by the NIA, revealing that the heroin consignment was being smuggled into India through the land border upon directions from Dubai-based absconding accused Shahid Ahmed, NIA sources added.

They said the intricate smuggling web involved Nazir Ahmed Qani, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, who allegedly dispatched the illicit heroin consignment.

The contraband was to be delivered to Delhi-based accused Zaidi. It was meant for distribution across various parts of the country.

On December 16 last year, a charge sheet in the case was filed against four accused, namely Shahid Ahmed, Nazir Ahmed Qani, Razi Haider Zaidi and Vipin Mittal, NIA sources said.