Shimla police trace heroin supply links to Punjab, Chandigarh

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Two alleged key suppliers arrested in Fazilka and Chandigarh during probe into separate ‘chitta’ cases

Shimla, September 16

The local police have arrested two alleged key heroin suppliers from Punjab and Chandigarh while probing two separate drug cases, taking the number of major suppliers arrested by the police this year to 77, officials said.

The arrests followed investigations into the supply chains in the two cases, with the police tracing the source of the contraband through backward linkages.

In the first case, the Dhalli police intercepted a taxi on the Bhattakufar-Dhalli tunnel road on August 28 and arrested Dushyant Verma, a resident of Sunni in Shimla, and Akshay Sharma of Ani in Kullu. The police recovered 6.5 grams of heroin, commonly referred to as “chitta”, from the vehicle.

During the investigation, the police allegedly traced the supply to Ajay Kumar, son of Balwinder Singh and a resident of Fazilka, Punjab. A police team subsequently travelled to Punjab and arrested Kumar from Mojewala village in the Jalalabad tehsil of Fazilka district on September 14.

He was produced before a court and sent on two-day police remand, according to the police.

In the second case, the Sadar police arrested Sanamjit and Sumit Sapra, both residents of Krishnanagar in Shimla, on September 8 with 5 grams of heroin.

The investigation allegedly led the police to Chandigarh, where a man identified as Gaurav, an employee of a cooperative bank, was identified as a key supplier. The police raided his residence in Manimajra and arrested him, recovering another 9.31 grams of heroin, according to the source.

Gaurav was produced before a court and sent to judicial custody.

The Shimla police said they had arrested 77 major suppliers and dismantled 58 interstate trafficking networks in 2026 so far. The corresponding figures were eight suppliers and four networks in 2025 and 12 suppliers and three networks in 2024.

The police said the campaign focused on tracing and disrupting drug supply chains rather than targeting only street-level peddlers.