Police investigations revealed that the gang was linked to the ISI and was involved in sending drug money to Pakistan through hawala channels. Approximately 297.40-gram heroin, one country made pistol, ₹5,200 drug money, one Swift car, a drug weighing machine, and 100 cocaine crack balls (47.10 gram) has been recovered from their possession.

The arrested accused have been identified as Akashdeep Singh alias Akash, Shamsher Singh alias Shera and Gurlal Singh alias Lala, who were arrested in FIR -76, registered at PS 36, Chandigarh, and Shufaa alias Shufee, a Tanzania citizen, currently residing in New Delhi arrested in FIR -35, registered at PS-17, Chandigarh. Both the FIRs have been registered under the NDPS Act.

The Operations Cell received secret information that two international drug peddling gangs are active in Chandigarh.

The Operation Cell, led by inspector Ranjit Singh, apprehended Akashdeep Singh alias Akash and Shamsher Singh alias Shera, recovering 297.40 grams of heroin from their possession.

Police said that the two accused were part of a drug network operated by Gurlal Singh alias Lala, currently lodged in Goindwal Jail.

In a separate operation, the police arrested a Tanzanian national, Shufaa alias Shufee, from ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminal) Sector-17, Chandigarh, and seized 100 cocaine/crack balls. Shufaa, residing in Uttam Nagar, Delhi, is believed to be operating a drug network in the Delhi-Punjab region. She was previously convicted in 2018 for possession of a commercial quantity of heroin and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, said police.

During the raid, the police also uncovered an alarming connection between the drug racket and ISI’s spying activities. Shamsher Singh and his cousin Gurlal were found to be in touch with an ISI agent in Pakistan. They had also allegedly collaborated with Bhawani Singh, a railway official who was honey-trapped by a Pakistani agent named Nimi.

Police added that Bhawani Singh had reportedly shared sensitive information regarding Army vehicles, arms, and training centres with the ISI in exchange for money. The Rajasthan Police are also investigating Shamsher Singh and Gurlal Singh for their involvement in this espionage case.

The police teams, after receiving secret information about these gangs, had set up checkpoints in Chandigarh, eventually arresting the suspects. The main accused, Akashdeep Singh, was nabbed near ISBT, Sector-43, while Shamsher Singh was caught after a late-night chase through wheat fields near the Indo-Pak border in Punjab.

Following the arrests, the police obtained a production warrant for Gurlal Singh and took him into custody from the jail. Further investigations are underway to trace the financial transactions and identify other associates involved in the drug trade, said police.