Now, Lawrence Bishnoi gang forays into drug trafficking with links in Pakistan

JAIPUR: Besides extortions from traders, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's syndicate is now trying to foray into drug trafficking in Rajasthan.
A day after Sriganganagar police arrested three members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang with 12kg of narcotic substances, police discovered that the gang is procuring drugs from across the border.
Talking to TOI, SP (Sriganganagar) Paris Deshmukh said that police will quiz Bishnoi about his involvement in narcotic smuggling.
A senior police official said that even central agencies have also unearthed the Bishnoi gang’s involvement in smuggling cases.
“Primary investigation indicates that the Bishnoi syndicate has been procuring different narcotic substances from Pakistan and smuggling them in other parts of the country,” an official said.
Even as police are planning to quiz Bishnoi on narcotic smuggling, police believe that gangster is now exploring Rajasthan as a possible transit route for drug smuggling.
“The Sriganganagar police arrested three men on Wednesday- Surendra, Kuleep, and Puneet. They are associated with the Bishnoi gang through Sunil Yadav alias Golu,” said an official, adding that Yadav is a close aide of Bishnoi who had murdered a jeweller back in 2017 in the district.
Bishnoi runs his gang in Rajasthan through his chief aide Rohit Godara.
Sources said that the Bishnoi gang so far has been involved in threatening people for extortion, it is for the first time that he is now trying to expand the gang through drug trafficking.
“Drugs are a lucrative trade for gangsters like Bishnoi. We have a growing suspicion now that he has been asking his men to use Rajasthan as a transit route for his illegal trade,” said an official.
Meanwhile, ADG (Crime) Dinesh MN said that Rajasthan police have launched a special crackdown on the drug cartel.
“Our team in the past few days have launched multiple operations against the drug smugglers in Sriganganagar, Jhalawar, Barmer and Pratapgarh,” he said, adding that crime branch teams are collecting information against notorious drug peddlers.