Garhwal Post Bureau
Champawat, 16 Dec: In a major crackdown on cross-border drug trafficking, a joint team of SOG Champawat, STF Kumaon and Banbasa Police arrested three youths from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh with 799 grams of heroin during a late-night checking drive near Banbasa. The STF action foiled an attempt to smuggle the contraband into Nepal. FIR has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) and further investigation is underway to trace the wider network involved in the racket.
The action was taken under the direction of CO Tanakpur Vandana Verma and the supervision of SOG in-charge Kamlesh Bhatt, when the police teams were conducting intensive checks along the Khatima–Tanakpur National Highway, an area considered sensitive due to its proximity to the India–Nepal border. At around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday, the teams intercepted a motorbike without a registration number near Strong Farm. On suspicion, the three youths riding the vehicle were searched, leading to the recovery of a large quantity of smack concealed on their persons.
Superintendent of Police Ajay Ganpati said that 263 grams of heroin were recovered from Surajdeep Singh, 19, a resident of Majra Poorav village under Padwa police station limits in Lakhimpur Kheri, while 265 grams were seized from Karnail Singh, 42, a resident of Dalrajpur under Singhai police station. Another 271 grams were recovered from Gurmeet Singh, 42, also known as Mita, a resident of Dalrajpur under the same police station area. Besides the narcotics, the police recovered three mobile phones and Rs 2,800 in cash from the accused.
During the interrogation, the accused disclosed that the heroin had been procured from Satnam Singh of Lakhimpur Kheri, whom they identified as the leader of their gang. They revealed that the consignment was meant to be supplied to contacts in Nepal through illegal cross-border routes, which are frequently used by the smugglers to evade law enforcement agencies. According to the police, Satnam Singh is allegedly involved in supplying smack not only in UP but also in metropolitan and coastal states such as Mumbai and Goa and several cases under the NDPS Act are already registered against him. It also came to light that accused Gurmeet alias Mita has two previous criminal cases registered against him in Lakhimpur Kheri.
Police officials said that the mobile phone of Surajdeep Singh contained digital records of financial transactions running into lakhs of rupees, indicating large-scale dealings with Satnam Singh and pointing towards an organised interstate and cross-border drug syndicate. These electronic records are currently being analysed to identify other members of the network, including buyers, couriers and financiers. Efforts are also being made to arrest Satnam Singh and track the Nepal-based receiver who was to take delivery of the contraband.
The recovery is being seen as a significant success for the district police, particularly in view of the growing use of border districts in Kumaon as transit routes for narcotics smuggling to Nepal. Law enforcement agencies have repeatedly flagged the India–Nepal open border as a challenge, with smugglers exploiting difficult terrain and forest routes to move drugs, especially heroin and synthetic substances, across the border.
SP Ajay Ganpati further asserted that the Champawat police have intensified their campaign against drug trafficking this year, resulting in the arrest of 140 accused persons from January 2025 to date. During this period, 87 cases have been registered under the NDPS Act. The police have seized 25.142 kg of charas, 2.248 kg of smack or heroin, 5.789 kg of MDMA, 986 grams of opium and 83 intoxicating injections. The total estimated value of the seized narcotics is more than Rs 17.67 crore. Senior police officials said the drive will continue with increased coordination between district police, STF and the central agencies to dismantle drug networks operating in the border areas and to prevent Uttarakhand from being used as a transit corridor for international drug smuggling.
