DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The Punjab Police has arrested two hawala operators for allegedly facilitating illegal financial transactions linked to drug trafficking, officials said on Sunday. Rs 17.60 lakh cash and a laptop with critical transaction records were recovered from the duo after busting the narco-terror hawala racket, they said.

"In a decisive crackdown on drug networks, Amritsar Rural Police apprehends two Hawala operators, Sukhjit Singh & Ranbir Singh, who were facilitating illegal financial transactions linked to drug trafficking," Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav posted on X on Sunday.

"Punjab Police is systematically dismantling the drug ecosystem -- targeting traffickers, their financiers, and enablers. Anyone involved in this dirty trade will face severe consequences," the DGP said.

Yadav said the arrests have come amid an ongoing investigation into the 561-gram heroin seizure by local police in Amritsar. The accused were involved in hawala financing and other drug supply chains.

Meanwhile, giving further details, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Border Satinder Singh, said the development came following meticulous investigations and sustained follow-up of backward and forward linkages in the arrest of accused Gursahib Singh and Jaswant Singh near Village Hardo Ratan after recovering 561 grams of heroin from their possession on Friday.

Satinder Singh said that during the ongoing investigation into the 561 gram heroin seizure by the Amritsar Rural Police, the arrested accused exposed their links with two Hawala operators -- Sukhjit Singh and Ranbir Singh -- and other drug supply chains.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested duo were facilitating illegal financial transactions linked to drug trafficking, he added.

The DIG said that further investigations are ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages in this case. More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Maninder Singh said that acting on credible information, police team successfully apprehended both the hawala operators from Chheharta area in Amritsar and recovered Indian and foreign currency along with one laptop from their possession.

Further interrogation is underway to uncover more links in this hawala network, he said.

(editor@dailyworld.in)