New Delhi, Aug 12: A 51-year-old alleged drug trafficker, wanted in multiple narcotics cases, has been detained under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act following a preventive detention order issued in February, police said on Wednesday.
Dharamveer Singh alias Palla, a resident of Inderpuri, was apprehended from Fateh Nagar on August 10 following a tip-off, the police said.
The preventive detention proposal was prepared by the crime branch of Delhi Police and forwarded to the PITNDPS Division of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, for consideration, a senior police officer said.
The detaining authority issued the detention order under Section 3(1) of the PITNDPS Act on February 26, directing that Dharamveer be detained and lodged in Central Jail, Puzhal in Chennai.
According to the police, a team apprehended Dharamveer after technical surveillance helped trace his location. He was subsequently detained after completion of mandatory legal formalities and is being shifted to the Chennai jail in accordance with the detention order, the police said.
"Dharamveer has eight previous cases registered against him, including several under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The cases include those registered by the Narcotics Branch and Crime Branch in 2006, 2016 and 2021 involving cannabis, besides a 2024 NDPS case in Rajasthan," the officer said.
He was also allegedly involved in an attack on a Delhi Police narcotics team in Inderpuri in 2022. During the incident, two persons sustained bullet injuries and four police personnel were injured in stone-pelting by a mob.
Dharamveer was subsequently arrested in that case.
The police said that he had been involved in illicit ganja trafficking for several years and had emerged as a major supplier, procuring ganja from southern India and distributing it in Delhi. He allegedly changed locations frequently to evade arrest and was currently out on bail.
"Dharamveer became involved in illegal activities after his marriage in 1994 and initially supplied illicit liquor and later ganja. He allegedly operated a cable business as a front to conceal his activities," the officer said.
According to the police, ordinary penal provisions had failed to deter him and preventive detention was necessary to prevent his alleged continued involvement in organised narcotics trafficking.
