Three persons were today arrested from Gujarat and Rajasthan by the Narcotics Control Bureau and 1.2 kg of heroin, worth about Rs 3.6 crore, was seized from them.
The kingpin, who claimed to have supplied the contraband to two persons nabbed from Gujarat, was arrested from a village in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan in a joint operation by Jodhpur NCB and Rajasthan police, said NCB Zonal Director Hari Om Gandhi.
"Based on a tip-off, we intercepted an SUV in Sarangpur area here during afternoon and nabbed two persons, both natives of Rajasthan, with 1.2 kg of heroin, the value of which in international market is around Rs 3.6 crore," he said.
The duo have been identified as - Gopal Panchal (40), resident of Mohkampura in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan and Kantilal Kalal (35), from Chikli village of Dungarpur district in the neighbouring state.
"During primary interrogation, it was revealed that they received the heroin from a supplier named Dilbar Khan, a resident of Gowardhanpura in Pratapgarh. Acting on the tip-off, the Jodhpur NCB and local police nabbed Khan from his village. He is now being brought here for further questioning," said Gandhi.
Khan's arrest is considered as a major breakthrough by the NCB, as he is believed to be running the racket of supplying heroin since many years, but never got caught in the past.
"Khan is a big fish for us, as he is considered a major supplier of heroin in many parts of country in the past. He used to convert opium into heroin using a chemical process at his village and then sell it to smaller suppliers like Panchal and Kalal," said Gandhi.
Upon questioning, it was revealed that Panchal and Kalal were supposed to deliver the contraband to a city-based drug dealer, identified as Kishan.
"Panchal was associated with Khan since many years. In 2002, he was nabbed by Mumbai NCB with 3 kg heroin. He served 22 months in Arthur jail. He then jumped parole and vanished. Even at that time, the heroin recovered from him was supplied by Khan. But, Khan remained out of the clutches all these years," Gandhi said.
