'Vijender took drugs'

International boxer Vijender Singh allegedly consumed heroin 12 times from December 2012 to February 2013 while his colleague Ram Singh took it five times, Punjab Police said yesterday as it announced seizure of huge quantities of lifestyle drugs used in parties.

Based on international prices for these drugs, police said the haul was valued at Rs 484 crore.

India's Vijender Singh celebrates his victory over Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev to win gold in the 75kg boxing final at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China. pic/AFP

A police spokesman said yesterday that police in Fatehgarh Sahib district had recovered 10 kg of party drug ‘Ice' (methamphetamine) and 230 kg of raw material (pseudophedrine) from which it is made.

About Vijender, he said: "In investigations conducted so far, it has been established that boxers Ram Singh and Vijender took heroin from (arrested Canada-based drug dealer) Anoop Singh Kahlon and Rocky for personal consumption between December 2012 and February 2013. As per investigations, Vijender consumed the drug about 12 times and Ram Singh about five times. However, they did not actively connive with smugglers in their activities and nothing was recovered from them, so both of them are not being arrested in the case at this stage."

Constable Ram Singh has been dismissed from the police department.

Export of drugs
About the seizure, the spokesman said: "Both the manufactured Ice and the raw material were being exported abroad to Britain, Canada and Holland by this group of narcotic smugglers through Kulwant Singh, a British national, who was earlier arrested in this case from Delhi on March 19.

"As per Kahlon and Kulwant Singh, the international retail price of Ice is about Rs 5 crore per kg and of raw material is about Rs 1 crore per kg." the
"The total wholesale price of these seizures in the international market is Rs 121 crore and the international retail price approximately Rs 484 crore according to the figure given by Kahlon and Kulwant Singh," the spokesman added.

The latest seizures were made from Panchkula, Patiala and Sangrur.

The Fatehgarh Sahib police had earlier this month (March 7), recovered over 28 kg heroin, worth Rs 130 crore in the international market, from Kahlon's possession and had arrested him. The drug haul was made from Kahlon's flat in Zirakpur, near Chandigarh, and his car. Police also found a SUV, registered in the name of Vijender's wife Archana, parked outside Kahlon's flat. Kahlon reportedly told the police that Vijender and fellow boxer Ram Singh were his "clients".

Viju questioned
The Punjab Police have already questioned Vijender, a DSP in the Haryana Police, in connection with the racket. The boxer has, so far, refused to give his blood and hair samples though.

"15 people including two Canadian and one British citizen have been arrested so far in this case, whereas more than 25 others of this network are presently absconding. Police parties have been dispatched to UP, Delhi and Mumbai apart from several places in Punjab for further investigation and to apprehend the absconders," the spokesman said. Among those booked in the case is a serving sub-inspector Sarabjit Singh.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Ananya Gautam, assisted by Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh and the state special operation cell Amritsar, have been deputed to probe the international facets of the smuggling network and appropriately liaise with British, Canadian and Dutch police," he added.u00a0