In a one-of-its-kind case, the Punjab police on Sunday caught an ambulance carrying a fake patient smuggling narcotics hidden inside the pillow under the ‘patient’s head’. The Mohali police have arrested three persons with eight kg opium.
Taking a serious cognisance of the matter related to the arrest of three persons misusing an ambulance to smuggle the drugs, Ropar Range’s Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar has decided to take up the issue with Civil, Health, and concerned regulatory authorities.
Pertinently, amid the ongoing war against drugs on the directions of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Mohali Police on Sunday have busted an inter-state drug smuggling racket after recovering eight kg opium concealed in a pillow placed under the head of a fake patient lying in an ambulance during a special nakabandi on Ambala-Chandigarh highway near Dapper village.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ravi Shrivastav (28) of Rampur, (Uttar Pradesh), presently residing at Ram Darbar in Chandigarh; Harinder Sharma (47) of Naya Gaon village in SAS Nagar (Mohali); and Ankush (27) of Khudda Ali Sher village in Chandigarh.
“A team posted near Dappar village stopped an ambulance coming from Ambala side. The police found two persons inside the vehicle — one posing as a patient, lying on a stretcher-like seat, and another sitting by him. The third one was driving the vehicle. When they checked, the police did not find any member of a medical team or oxygen cylinder, or even the first-aid kit in the vehicle, which stoked their suspicion,” said the police official.
The official added that they took to doing a thorough checking of the ambulance, and came to find eight kg of opium hidden inside the pillow being used by the person posing as patient.
DIG Bhullar said that as the Punjab Police have strict directions from the Chief Minister to root out drug menace from the State, the Mohali Police have busted an inter-state module which has raised serious concern about misuse of emergency services.
“This has come to the fore during the investigation that how accused persons had purchased a second hand Ambulance and started using it for smuggling of drugs,” he said. This was at least for the 10-12th time accused persons have used the Ambulance to smuggle opium from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, reveals the investigations.
Besides taking up matter with all the concerned authorities, DIG Bhullar said that he has also asked all the three SSPs in the range — Mohali, Rupnagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib — to hold meeting with representatives of all the Hospitals and NGOs in their concerned districts and get the list of Ambulances assigned to them, so that the police could provide safe passage to genuine patients, while nabbing the anti-social elements using the Emergency Services for criminal activities.
He also suggested using a special beacon on top of the ambulance which could signify whether there was a patient in the ambulance or not.
Divulging more details about the drugs recoveries in his Range since April 1, 2022, the DIG said that they have recovered a total of 2.41 kg heroin, 20.42 kg opium, 2.10 quintal poppy husk, 200 grams charas, 7.29 kg ganja, 40,945 intoxicant injections, 8,70,590 intoxicant tablets besides seizing drug money worth Rs 8.08 lakhs.
The Police have registered a total of 211 FIRs, including 14 commercial, after arresting 307 drug smugglers or suppliers. The Police have also arrested 11 Proclaimed Offenders, he added.
Meanwhile, DIG Bhullar said that the War against drugs will continue till drug menace is not wiped out from the State.