Harpreet Singh Talwar aka Kabir Talwar, the owner of several clubs in Delhi, including the Playboy Club in Delhi’s Samrat Hotel, was on Thursday arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with 3,000 kg of heroin seized at Gujarat’s Mundra port on September 13 last year. The NIA re-registered the case on October 6 in 2021.
Another man, Prince Sharma, was also nabbed in the case on Thursday.
An NIA spokesperson said that both Talwar and Sharma are part of an international drug smuggling network involved in smuggling large commercial quantities of heroin originating from Afghanistan into India.
The official said that heroin was being concealed in imported consignments of material, such as semi-processed talc, bituminous coal, etc. One such consignment of about 3,000 kg of heroin was intercepted and seized at Mundra Port by DRI in September last year.
The NIA arrested Talwar after questioning him for several hours at its headquarters in New Delhi. The anti-terror probe agency official said that both were arrested based on the probe so far and incriminating evidence obtained during searches that two key accused were involved in smuggling heroin through import consignments from Afghanistan using the maritime route.
The anti-terror probe agency carried out searches at 20 locations across the country on Wednesday. The official said that the agency carried out searches at 14 locations in Delhi, two in Gujarat, three in Bengal, and one in Punjab in connection with the case.
The official also said that the accused persons were involved in the import of narcotics through fake or shell import companies. They also facilitated its transport to Delhi-based Afghan nationals involved in the purification and distribution of heroin in many states, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, etc.
The official said that the NIA probe continues to unravel the entire supply chain and network of money laundering, drug distribution, and other players involved in this international drug network.
Earlier, the NIA arrested several accused and also filed a charge sheet in connection with the case against 16 people, including 11 Afghans and one Iranian national.
The accused named in the case were also associated with Pakistan-based terror groups and the proceeds were channeled back to foreign entities through hawala for anti-India activities.