In yet another significant follow up in the infamous Akshay Chhabra Drug Syndicate case, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Chandigarh today (15th Feb 2024) impounded and took into possession 5 vehicles worth over Rs. 44.50 lakh from Ludhiana. Most of these vehicles were goods carriers and were impounded from Dana Mandi, Ludhiana.
According to highly placed sources in the agency, the vehicles have been seized from Guru Traders, Dana Mandi Ludhiana , under NDPS act as these vehicles are prima facie believed to have been purchased from drug money generated from Heroin smuggling by the Akshay Chhabra drug syndicate.
Notably on February 10th, NCB seized movable goods worth Rs. 18 lakh from house of one of the syndicate members Gurmail Garry, prior to this on 9th February gym equipment and goods worth Rs. 37 lakh was also seized from his gym located in GTB Nagar Ludhiana. Agency had also seized household goods worth Rs. 36 lakh from Ludhiana home of another accused Surinder Kalra on 4th February who is wanted in this case but is an absconder. Total assets seized by NCB in all these actions conducted in February is now worth over Rs. 1.35 crores.
The main case on the basis of which these actions are being conducted pertains to 2022 when on 15th November, NCB sleuths had seized 20.36 kilograms of Heroin from Ludhiana and arrested one Sandeep Singh alias Deepu. The further probe by NCB in this case revealed shocking details that Heroin was being processed by Afghan nationals in a lab established in Ludhiana by kingpin Akshay Chhabra. During its investigation NCB seized 39.936 Kgs of Heroin, 0.557 Kgs of Opium, 23.645 Kgs suspected caffine powder, 04 bottles of HCL, 31 live bullets & 01 magazine along with busting 2 factories and heroin processing hideouts of the group behind this nexus.
The total arrests made by NCB in this case stands at 20 while freezing and seizures of movable , immovable assets of the syndicate behind this racket has crossed Rs. 55.72 crores.