Developing the operational leads disclosed by the synthetic drug racket kingpin and mastermind Jagdish Bhola, the Punjab Police today achieved major successes with uncovering of two important supply chains of precursor chemicals (ephedrine and pseudoephedrine) used in manufacture of synthetic drug ICE (M-amphetamine). Jagjit Singh Chahal s/o Manmohan Singh r/o village Romana Chack, Tehsil Baba Bakala, district Amritsar and Manjinder Singh Aulakh @ Bittu Aulakh s/o Partap Singh r/o village Preet Lari, PS Lopoke, district Amritsar has been arrested in this connection.Disclosing this here today, Mr. HS Mann, SSP, Patiala said that Jagjit Singh Chahal was operating three factories manufacturing precursor chemicals ephedrine and pseudoephedrine which were perted illegally from the medicine sector to manufacture of the synthetic drug ICE. The following factories of Jagjit Singh Chahal manufacturing these precursors have been uncovered: (i) MBP Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Baddi(ii) Montek Bio-Pharma Ltd., Baddi(iii)Tulip Formulations, Damtal, near Pathankot
He said that the Police parties have raided these factories and Drug Inspectors from the Food & Supply Department have also been associated with these raids. The entire stocks and equipments were being thoroughly checked to examine the modus-operandi of the illegal persion of precursor chemical from medicine sector to illegal manufacture of synthetic drugs. 2 kgs of pseudoephedrine (worth Rs. 2 crores) and 250 gms of ICE (worth Rs. 1.25 crores) has been recovered from Jagjit Singh Chahal, and another 2 kgs of pseudoephedrine (worth Rs. 2 crores) has been recovered from Manjinder Singh Aulakh @ Bittu Aulakh.
Mann said that Chahal was supplying the precursor chemicals to the drug lord Jagdish Singh @ Bhola and others through a go-between person who has been identified and raids are being conducted to nab him. Manjinder Singh Aulakh @ Bittu Aulakh was operating an independent supply chain of the precursor chemicals for Bhola and was procuring these from the medicine sector and supplying them to Jagdish Bhola. Further investigation to uncover the entire supply chain and arrest all the involved persons was going on.Interestingly, both Chahal and Bittu Aulakh come from fairly respectable backgrounds and are well established in Amritsar in different lines of business. Jagjit Singh Chahal has multiple business interests, including a flourishing tyre manufacturing business. He is well-off with a penchant for luxury cars with number 0001. Similarly, Bittu Aulakh is a prominent hotelier and the owner of Sanjog Hotel located at Court road in Amritsar.
Mr. Mann informed that Jagdish Singh @ Bhola has disclosed in his interrogation that he was inspired by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to make it big in the crime world. In 2008, Bhola was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai with 25 kgs of ICE and was lodged in the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
He came into contact with the estranged former lieutenant of Dawood, Abu Salem and also Mustafa Dosa. Due to his contacts, Jagdish Bhola was able to secure certain facilities in the jail, including outside food which acted as a causative factor for Abu Salem and Mustafa Dosa to come close to him. He interacted very closely with these two former associates of Dawood Ibrahim and showed keen interest in the manner in which Dawood operated his illegal enterprise, especially the drug business. The inputs received from Abu Salem and Mustafa Dosa convinced Jagdish Singh @ Bhola that he could also make it big in the illegal drug trade. He informed that further interrogation of Jagdish Bhola has revealed that his contacts in Canada were sending the synthetic drug ICE to Australia, primarily through air cargo. The drug would be mixed with banana powder to avoid detection. Sophisticated mechanisms of concealing the contrabands were used like false cavities in containers, food product boxes etc. Further investigations are ongoing.