Amritsar: With heightened security along Mumbai's coast after the November terror attack, smugglers of narcotics and fake currency from Pakistan use a different route now, through the border in Punjab.

This was borne out by high seizures of narcotics, over 92kg of heroin in three separate operations, by security agencies in December. The drug was seized from Amritsar, Ferozepur and Jalandhar districts.

Just last week, the Jalandhar police seized 52kg of heroin from the house of Sukhchain Singh of Phagwara. His interrogation revealed that the narcotics consignment that normally found its way to Mumbai by sea had been diverted through the borders in Punjab and Rajasthan.

The 52kg consignment came in three parts and kept accumulating at his place as he could not transport it to Mumbai due to high security there. Earlier, the police and the narcotics branch had seized 27kg of heroin in Ferozepur and another 15kg in Amritsar, clear indications of a sudden spurt in smuggling on the border.

"Punjab is the main transit route of narcotics trade being run from Afghanistan and North-West Frontier Province," said a senior officer. With security tightened in Mumbai, Punjab has also become a temporary piling ground for the smuggled goods.

Altogether, security agencies had seized 450kg of heroin last year. The Punjab border is largely fenced, but there are chinks, particularly on the river belt. "Thick fog has hit surveillance in the past few days," said an officer.

Narcotics apart, fake currency and arms is smuggled in. Fake currency worth Rs 63,33,900 was seized from the border last year. Fifteen cases were reported from Taran Taran, in which Rs 26 lakh was seized.

The police also registered 179 cases under Arms Act after recovering 3,045 cartridges, 18 revolvers, 117 pistols, 27 guns, 31 bombs or grenades and 51 magazines smuggled from across the border.

In Ferozepur, the police recovered 25 packets of heroin, five AK-56 rifles, seven magazines and 750 cartridges; 10 Chinese-made .30 bore pistols with 21 magazines and 140 cartridges, and fake currency worth Rs 21 lakh in November. The ammunition, the police said, was brought to assassinate Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. It was sent by Pakistan-based Khalistan Zindabad Force chief Ranjit Singh Neeta.

Source : Central