500 kg heroin smuggling by Pak through Gujarat, NIA files supplementary chargesheet
Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 Mar, 2022 01:37 PM
New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday said it has filed a supplementary chargesheet against an accused in connection with a 500-kg heroin smuggling case by people based in Dubai. The drug was smuggled through Pakistan-India sea route.
Earlier, 10 accused persons have been chargesheeted in the case. The chargesheet was filed before a Special Court in Ahmedabad.
The case was initially registered by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2018.
The case pertains to a criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused based in Dubai and Pakistan for smuggling and distribution of 500 kg of illegal narcotic heroin from Pakistan to Gujarat through the sea route.
This heroin was brought by Pakistani nationals in a Pakistani fishing vessel and was delivered in the Indian territorial waters near Jakhau Port in Kutch.
The NIA had re-registered the case on July 2, 2020.
The accused Shahid Kasam Surma was a close associate of earlier accused persons -- Arshad Razak Sota and Rafik Adam Sumra -- who have been absconding since committing the crime.
Surma had stored, transported and delivered 495 kg of the 500 kg of drugs received from Pakistan to Amritsar, Punjab, through his associates.
A red corner notice was issued against him by the Interpol. He was later deported from Dubai and arrested in this case.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told the media here after the day-long deliberations with the political parties, except the BJP, that they had told the political parties not to hold big rallies till elections in the state are announced.
Naqvi further stated that the long-pending demand of Kartarpur Corridor has been fulfilled and the government has also decided to start the 'Gurudwara circuit train' that will take passengers on a pilgrimage across the country.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday announced that they will continue the peaceful protest here and will not obstruct any official day to day activities. He said that farmers across the state will continue the agitation on the lines of ongoing protests at the Delhi borders.
The drug money is allegedly linked with the seizure of 17 kg heroin, which was recovered by the police in Amritsar (Rural) on August 26 after arresting Ranjit Singh, alias Sonu.
The demands included an FIR and strict action against SDM Ayush Sinha, who on August 28 instructed the police to beat the protesting farmers. A video-clip of Sinha ordering the force to smash the farmers' heads had stirred a row after it went viral on social media.
