Foreigner among two held with Rs 5-cr heroin

Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 20 

Sleuths of the Special Task Force (STF), Mohali, have arrested two drug peddlers, including a foreign national, with 1-kg heroin, valued around Rs 5 crore in the international market, here. 

The accused have been identified as South African national David Bokaiea, who was currently staying at Vikaspuri, New Delhi, and Amaninder Singh, alias Billa, a resident of Majara Sonali village in Una, Himachal Pradesh. 

Harpreet Singh, Assistant Inspector General, STF, Roopnagar Range, said both accused were on their way from Delhi to Mohali in a Swift car when they were nabbed on a tip-off. 

“The accused were coming from the furniture market side to the Phase 3/5 traffic light point when they were intercepted by our team. On search, we recovered 1 kg of heroin from their car,” said Harpreet Singh.

During preliminary interrogation, David said he came to India on a tourist visa on May 12 this year and started staying at Vikaspuri, New Delhi. He said greed for money and bad company dragged him into the drug world, adding that Amaninder was his accomplice and both of them were supplying drugs in the Punjab area.

Amaninder, a Class XI pass-out, confessed that he was also a drug addict. “He had been in the drug business for the past around eight months. Amaninder also used to take drugs,” said the police.

Both of them had brought the drug from Delhi to supply it in the Mohali area to their regular customers. 

The accused said they had procured the heroin from a Nigerian, identified as John. 

The police have registered a case under Sections 21, 29, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act against the duo while Section 14 of the Foreigners Act has also been slapped against David at the STF police station at Phase 4 here.

The duo was produced before a local court, which remanded them in two-day police custody.

Remanded in 2-day police custody

The accused have been identified as South African national David Bokaiea, who was currently staying at Vikaspuri, New Delhi, and Amaninder Singh, alias Billa, a resident of Majara Sonali village in Una, Himachal Pradesh. The duo was produced before a local court, which remanded them in two-day police custody.