Chandigarh: The Punjab Police’s State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), SAS Nagar, has arrested a key financial operative linked to an inter-state and cross-border narco-terror network, marking a significant breakthrough in the ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking and terror financing, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday.
The accused has been identified as Satnam Singh (22), a resident of Punnewal village in Sangrur district. Police said Singh, who earlier worked as a taxi driver with a private firm, had travelled to Azerbaijan on a tourist visa in June last year, where he allegedly established contact with a Pakistan-based drug smuggler.
The arrest is the result of sustained investigations into a narco-terror module linked to Rajbir Singh alias Fauji, a key operative who was arrested earlier near Raxaul on the Indo-Nepal border while attempting to flee to Nepal. Rajbir Singh, who had deserted the Indian Army in February 2025, was found to be supplying heroin to a courier previously arrested with 107 grams of heroin and a 9 mm pistol along with live cartridges.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said preliminary investigations revealed that Satnam Singh knowingly allowed his bank account and UPI credentials to be used for routing proceeds from heroin trafficking on the instructions of the Pakistan-based handler. The funds were allegedly used to support terror financing activities and expand the drug network.
The DGP further stated that the module has links to major heroin seizures, illegal arms trafficking, and the grenade attack in Sirsa, Haryana, in November 2025.
Sharing additional details, AIG SSOC SAS Nagar Deepak Pareek said custodial interrogation of Rajbir Singh alias Fauji revealed that after returning to India in September 2025, the Pakistan-based handler re-established contact with Satnam Singh and gradually drew him into the network by offering commissions for facilitating financial transactions.
Investigations revealed that proceeds from heroin sales were deposited into Satnam Singh’s bank account and later transferred to other associates of the module. Police also found that Rajbir Singh had routed funds through the account of Gurjant Singh of Tarn Taran, who has already been arrested by the Haryana Police.
AIG Pareek said further investigations are ongoing and more arrests are likely in the coming days.
In this connection, FIR No. 14 dated December 10, 2025, has been registered at Police Station SSOC, SAS Nagar, under Section 21 of the NDPS Act, Section 25(1) of the Arms Act, and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
