ANTF busts major narco-hawala financing ring in Ferozepur, seizes ₹20.55 Lakh drug money
Ludhiana operator arrested in major cross-border crackdown
Ferozepur, November 26, 2025: In a major blow to cross-border drug trafficking and its financial backbone, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Punjab, Ferozepur Range, has dismantled a key narco-hawala module linked to Pakistani smugglers, arresting a Ludhiana-based hawala operator and recovering ₹20.55 lakh in cash believed to be proceeds of heroin smuggling.
The breakthrough came during the midnight intervention of November 24-25, 2025, under Punjab’s ongoing “Yudh Nashiyan Viruddh” (War Against Drugs) campaign launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.
Acting on technical intelligence developed from a mobile phone seized earlier from accused Sandeep Singh alias Seepa (arrested in FIR No. 302/2025 involving recovery of 50 kg 14 gm heroin), the ANTF team traced direct messaging links between the Pakistani smuggler and the hawala operator.
The dedicated Technical Cell of ANTF Headquarters Mohali and Ferozepur Range played a crucial role in analysing digital footprints, leading investigators to Shriyansh, son of Sham Lal, a resident of Ludhiana (originally from Bikaner, Rajasthan). Shriyansh was allegedly using encrypted messaging channels of the Pakistani handler to launder drug money through hawala networks.
A raid team led by Sub-Inspector Navdeep Kaur, Incharge ANTF Ferozepur Range, apprehended Shriyansh and recovered ₹20,55,000 in cash from his possession. The amount is suspected to be direct proceeds of cross-border heroin trafficking.
Shriyansh has been formally arrested and booked under Sections 27-A (financing illicit traffic) and 29 (criminal conspiracy) of the NDPS Act, 1985 — provisions that carry stringent punishment and target the financial lifelines of organised drug syndicates.
The operation was conducted under the direct supervision of AIG ANTF Firozpur Range Gurinderbir Singh Sidhu, DSP Bhupinder Singh, and DSP Prithipal Singh.
Senior officers stated that the arrest has severely disrupted the money-laundering chain of a major Pakistan-based smuggling racket. Further investigation is underway to trace remaining forward and backward linkages, identify other co-accused, and seize additional drug proceeds.