New Delhi: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seizes heroin weighing 5.6 kg and arrests four people in Phagwara, near Jalandhar, Punjab. The agency conducted the intelligence-led operation on October 21, 2026. It continues the agency’s crackdown on narcotics trafficking.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers mounted surveillance in the Phagwara area. The intelligence concerned the movement of narcotic drugs by individuals travelling on a public transport bus. The team intercepted the bus and identified four suspected individuals travelling as passengers.
DRI seizes heroin hidden in a backpack
Officers searched the suspects in accordance with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. As a result, they recovered five packets wrapped in yellow adhesive tape. One suspect had concealed the packets in a backpack kept on the lap. Each of the five packets held two smaller packets, making ten in all.
Field tests on the substance in all ten packets returned positive results for heroin, commonly known as Chitta in Punjab. Officers then seized the 5.6 kg of contraband under the NDPS Act. They also arrested all four persons allegedly involved in transporting and possessing it under the same Act.
Penalties under the NDPS Act
Heroin is a highly addictive opioid that depresses the central nervous system. It carries a serious risk of dependence, respiratory depression, overdose and death. In India, it is a prohibited narcotic drug regulated under the NDPS Act, 1985. Moreover, the Act imposes stringent penalties for unauthorised possession, trafficking, transport or sale.
For a commercial quantity, Section 21(c) prescribes rigorous imprisonment of 10 to 20 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The provision allows for a higher fine. DRI said the seizure underscores its sustained efforts to disrupt narcotics supply chains. It added that the agency will keep bringing those involved in trafficking illicit narcotics to justice.
