NAVI MUMBAI: The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Navi Mumbai police has arrested three men from Punjab and seized high-grade heroin, an Austria-made Glock pistol, live cartridges and a trailer truck in a case investigators believe may be linked to a cross-border narcotics supply chain that uses drones to smuggle drugs into India before routing them into Maharashtra.
The accused, Baljit Singh Savinder Singh alias Monu, Gurupratap Singh Sharanjit Singh alias Gopi, and Karamjit Singh Nindar Singh, all residents of Amritsar in Punjab, were apprehended during a targeted operation in the Chakan MIDC–Nigoje village area of Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district last week. A court has remanded the trio to police custody till March 18.
Police said the arrests were made during a parallel investigation conducted by the Taloja police station in connection with a narcotics case registered last year under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
“During the probe, it emerged that wanted accused Baljit Singh and his associate Gopi were trafficking narcotic substances to Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Pune using a trailer truck that entered Maharashtra via Madhya Pradesh. A dedicated team was assigned to track their movements,” said Dharmpal Bansode, assistant commissioner of police (ANC).
Acting on technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, the police tracked the suspects’ truck from Nashik before intercepting it in Pune district.
During the operation, officers seized 82.6 grams of high-grade heroin valued at ₹41.30 lakh, an Austria-made Glock pistol worth ₹8 lakh, two magazines, four live cartridges worth ₹2.5 lakh, a trailer truck valued at ₹50 lakh, four mobile phones and a weighing scale. The total value of the seized contraband and property is estimated at ₹1.03 crore.
Investigators suspect that the heroin may have originated outside India and entered the country through drone drops along the international border.
“Preliminary findings suggest the contraband was smuggled into India using drones and subsequently transported into Maharashtra through interstate carriers. The exact source, route and intended recipients are still under investigation,” said senior police inspector Sandeep Nigade.
Police are now searching for 14 more individuals believed to be part of the supply and distribution network.
Officials said the action forms part of a broader anti-drug drive being undertaken under the Centre’s “Nasha Mukt Bharat 2028” campaign.
So far, six separate offences linked to the suspected interstate drug network have been registered by the Navi Mumbai police. In these cases, 40 accused have been arrested and narcotics and other property worth nearly ₹6 crore have been seized.
The March 2026 arrests come against the backdrop of a series of major drug busts by Navi Mumbai police over the past few months, which investigators say point to an expanding supply chain with alleged links to Punjab.
In November 2025, the ANC arrested Vikramjitsing Amriksing, 34, from Vashi and seized 271.8 grams of high-grade heroin valued at ₹1.35 crore during a raid on a rented residence in Kopri village, which investigators said was being used as a distribution hub.
The crackdown continued on January 21 this year when police arrested Kulmit Singh, who was allegedly supplying narcotics to Navi Mumbai and routing contraband through truck drivers.
Five days later, on January 26, Navi Mumbai police arrested alleged syndicate kingpin Saheb Singh alias Sabha Joginder Singh in Amritsar. Police said he was found with heroin worth ₹7 lakh.
Investigators described Saheb Singh as the main supplier and coordinator of the interstate network, alleging that he controlled heroin supplies from Punjab and accepted online payments directly into his bank account, bypassing local peddlers. He had allegedly evaded arrest on three earlier occasions before being traced through technical analysis of four mobile phones.
With his arrest, the number of accused held in the case had risen to 28, while narcotics worth ₹3.5 crore had been seized at that stage.
More recently, in February, Navi Mumbai police arrested Surinder Gurujant Singh alias Kalu, 24, and Maninder Gurujant Singh, 27, both residents of Nihal Singhwala in Moga district of Punjab, during a raid at Ghot Camp in Taloja. Police had then seized narcotic substances worth ₹1.02 crore, including 118 grams of heroin and 143.6 grams of opium.