Five arrested with 6 kg RDX, heroin

Express News Service

Amritsar: The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of Punjab Police Intelligence Wing arrested five smugglers on Thursday and recovered six kilograms of RDX, two kilograms of heroin and detonators from them.

As the explosive seized are of high intensity, which are not usually found from drug peddlers, the police are investigating a possible terrorist-drug mafia link. Preliminary investigations reveal that the smugglers were in touch with their kingpin Paramjit Singh Pamma, lodged in Jalandhar jail in an NDPS Act case.

"The recovery of RDX from smugglers in such a huge quantity reveals their intentions are dangerous. Their possible links with militant organisations are under scanner. There has always been coordination between terrorists and the drugs mafia, but explosives have not been found from smugglers in this way in the recent history," said AIG, SSOC, Manminder Singh. He said the links of the smugglers in Pakistan were being probed.

Those arrested are Sher Singh alias Shera, Nirmal Singh alias Nimma, Balwinder Singh alias Binder, Malkiat Singh alias Bittu, and Paramjit Singh alias Pamma, a namesake of the kingpin. The police said Nimma and Binder smuggled the consignment from Pakistan a few days ago and had come to Ghanupur Kale where Shera was waiting for them along with his associates.

Malsian man killed in Manila

JALANDHAR: A local youth, who was working as a money lender in Manila, was allegedly murdered by robbers on Wednesday in the Philippine capital. He stayed with his elder brother. While his father lives in England, his mother and grandmother live in Malsian village near Nakodar in Jalandhar. They said Satinder Singh (22) had been in Manila for the last three years, adding that three motorcycle-borne robbers shot him dead when he was out collecting money from borrowers. He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved. According to reports, money lending is an illegal business in Philippines and over 100 people from Punjab, who were in this business, have been killed in the last six to seven years.