South 24 Pargnas, 04 August (H.S.): The police have arrested an alleged key operative of a heroin trafficking network, identified as Pintoo alias Shafik Laskar, from Ghutiarisharif area under Canning police station in South 24 Parganas district. The police shared details of the incident on Tuesday.

According to the police, the accused is a known criminal in the area and several criminal cases and warrants are pending against him. He was allegedly involved in operating a drug network in the Ghutiarisharif area for a long time.

The police said that several raids had earlier been conducted at his suspected hideouts, but he had managed to evade arrest. During a surprise raid at his residence on Monday, the accused was arrested. Police claimed that he allegedly tried to flee after seeing the police team but was caught.

During a search of the accused’s house, police recovered two firearms, officials said. The accused was produced before the Alipore court on Tuesday, where police sought his custody for further investigation.

Canning SDPO Mottakinur Rahman said that several warrants were pending against the accused. Acting on the basis of those warrants, police arrested him along with two firearms. He added that the accused would be taken into police custody and allegations against him would be investigated before further action is taken according to law.

However, the accused has claimed that he is a victim of political vendetta. He alleged that he and his sister were earlier associated with the Trinamool Congress but joined the BJP before the Assembly elections due to political differences. He claimed that false cases were filed against him.

The police and local sources, however, alleged that the accused’s name had repeatedly surfaced in connection with heroin-related activities in the Ghutiarisharif area. Further investigation into the matter is underway, the police said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey