Police Arrest Two Punjab Businessmen With Drugs Worth Rs 3.25 Crore, Seize Drug Making Factories

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BHOLA DRUG CARTEL TAKEDOWN!

From right: Manjinder Singh Bittu Aulakh’s house near Amritsar’s Vairokevillage and that of Jagjit Singh Chahal in Romana Chak.

PATIALA – Days after it smashed adrug racket involving Arjuna awardee JagdishSingh, alias Bhola, the Punjab Policehas seized drugs worth around Rs 3.25crore from two businessmen in the state.An industrialist and an hotelier werearrested for their alleged involvement inthe drug racket. Two kg of pseudoephedrine(worth Rs 2 crore) and 250 gms ofIce (worth Rs 1.25 crore) were seizedfrom them.“We have arrested Jagjit Singh Chahalfrom Romana Chack village and ManinderSingh Aulakh (alias Bittu Aulakh) fromPreet Lari

village in Amritsar district,” saidBikramjit Singh Brar,investigating officer.Factories of Jagjit Singh Chahal (MBPPharmaceuticals Limited, Baddi; MontekBio-PharmaLimited, Baddi; and TulipFormulations, Damtal, near Pathankot)were raided as he had been supplying precursorchemicals to

Jagdish Singh.“Maninder Singh Aulakh had beenoperating an independent supply chain ofprecursor chemicals for Bhola. He procuredthese from the medicine sector andsupplied to Bhola,” the SSP said.Investigation agencies said Bhola wasusing a sim card procured from UttarPradesh at the time of his arrest. He hadsaved only four numbers in the mobile atthat time. Later, his associate Saba was arrested.“The priority now is to break the supplynetwork, which seems quite organisedand spread over many cities,” said an officer.The name of a senior
politicianfrom Amritsar region has cropped up duringAulakh’s interrogation. “Aulakh hasrevealed how he was constantly in touchwith senior politicians. The role of a seniorpolitician from Amritsar is under thescanner,’ said a police officer.Additional DGP (Intelligence) HardeepSingh Dhillon said the authoritieswere in touch with various High Commissionsover the drug trade racket.An industrialist & A HotelierJagjit Singh Chahal has multiplebusiness interests, including a flourishingtyre-manufacturing unit, in Amritsar. Hehas a penchant for luxury cars with number0001Bittu Aulakh is a prominent hotelierand owner of Sanjog Hotel located atCourt Road in AmritsarBhola wanted to be like DawoodDismissed DSP Jagdish Singh Bholawanted to make it big in drug trade likeDawood Ibrahim has done. After beingarrested by the NCB in Mumbai in 2008,Bhola was lodged in the Arthur Road Jailthere. During his stay in the jail, he camein contact with Abu Salem, estranged formerlieutenant of Dawood, and MustafaDosa.Due to his contacts, Bhola wasable to secure certain facilities in the jail,including outside food, which acted as acausative factor for Salem and Dosa tocome close to him. “Bhola showed keeninterest in the way in which Dawood operatedhis drug business,” said copsThe Patiala police said on Friday ithas seized chemicals worth Rs 600 croreallegedly used in preparing synthetic drug“ice” from a pharmaceutical unit in Baddi.The chemicals seized were enough tomanufacture “ice” or crystal methamphetamineworth Rs 2,000 crore in the internationalmarket. The police is now lookinginto financial dealings and money investedby the alleged drug smugglers throughpoliticians both in India and abroad. Investigatingofficer Bikramjit Singh Brartold the TNS over the phone that theirteams had barely completed 50 per centof the search in one of the Baddi unitsand the recoveries could be worth over Rs1,000 crore.“The recoveries may go up manifoldbut nothing can be said till the search ofthe two units is complete,” he said.Investigations suggest Chahal wassupplying chemicals to Bhola, while BittuAulakh, who allegedly had close links withan MLA, facilitated safe passage of thecontraband. Aulakh is allegedly linked tosenior police officers and top politiciansof the area

.