Tarn Taran: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) investigation into Punjab Police constable Karandeep Singh — arrested last week with about 15 kg of heroin in Tarn Taran district — has widened. Reports on Wednesday said the NCB has arrested three more persons in the case, including Lakhwinder Singh, a former sarpanch of Rajoke village in Tarn Taran and a former AAP village head, as investigators probe an alleged cross-border drone smuggling network linked to Pakistan-based handlers.
Investigators allege — and this remains an allegation, not a proven fact — that Karandeep Singh, who was posted with the Punjab Police anti-drone unit in the Khalra sector, used his knowledge of anti-drone deployments to guide smugglers towards drop zones where consignments faced a lower risk of interception. According to an NCB officer cited in reports, communications with handlers in Pakistan and the drop-zone information he allegedly shared link him to at least 24 suspected heroin deliveries since June 2026.
The arrest on October 15
Karandeep Singh was intercepted by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on October 15 near the Naushehera Dhalla checkpoint in the Sarai Amanat Khan area of Tarn Taran, while he was off duty and travelling in his personal vehicle. About 15 kg of heroin was recovered, Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba confirmed to media at the time. The constable, a resident of Bhuse village who joined the police in 2018, was suspended and the case was handed to the NCB, which is probing it under the NDPS Act.
According to the NCB officer cited in reports, the constable allegedly told investigators that he had earlier been addicted to heroin and that traffickers contacted him through encrypted calls from Pakistan, recruiting him in exchange for drugs and money. Investigators are examining that account, and are also looking at reports that he twice passed information to police that led to seizures — which officers suspect may have been an attempt to protect his cover. Every one of these claims is an investigator allegation at this stage; Karandeep Singh has not been convicted of any offence.
Rajoke village, named in the widened probe, has repeatedly figured in border smuggling cases: a BSF officer cited in reports said at least 11 drones have been shot down in the area since 2023, though interceptions there had fallen in the past year. The reported national figures underline why the case matters — in 2025, Punjab accounted for 298 of India's 305 drone-related drug seizure cases and about 461 kg of the 468 kg of narcotics recovered in such cases, according to the figures cited in the reports.
The case has landed in the middle of Punjab's heated political argument over drugs, where the opposition has been citing a policeman's arrest with heroin to question the state government's anti-drug claims; on Thursday, ABVP workers protested in Chandigarh over the drug crisis and demanded accountability from the state government and the police leadership. The NCB questioning of the arrested men is continuing, and further arrests have not been ruled out by investigators.