Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 10 (ANI): The Shimla Police have achieved a major breakthrough in their ongoing crackdown against narcotics trafficking with the arrest of an alleged key distributor linked to an interstate heroin supply network operating in Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.

The arrest was made during the investigation of First Information Report (FIR), registered on February 23, 2026, under Sections 21, 29 and 27A of the NDPS Act at Baluganj Police Station in Shimla district.

According to police, the case initially progressed on April 24, 2026, when a team from Baluganj Police Station recovered around seven grams of heroin, commonly known as 'chitta', from the possession of Avinash Chauhan (37). During the subsequent investigation, police arrested Vishal Yadav and his brother Jai Prakash Yadav, both residents of Bhojpur district in Bihar.

As investigators pursued the backward linkages and supply chain behind the drug network, extensive interrogation of the accused, along with analysis of digital evidence, banking transactions and technical data, led police to the alleged main distributor, Ravi Ahirwar (21), a native of Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh who was residing in Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, Haryana.

Police arrested Ahirwar from Faridabad on June 5 and subsequently obtained his police remand from a competent court.

Investigators revealed that Ahirwar had been living in the Mohali area since 2025 and was actively involved in transporting heroin consignments into Himachal Pradesh. As part of the operation, narcotics were allegedly concealed in empty milk packets, snack packets and other containers and hidden at various locations around Shimla's ISBT Tutikandi and adjoining areas.

According to police, Ahirwar would record videos of the concealed locations and send them to the alleged network operator, Vishal. After payment confirmation, the exact locations were shared with buyers, enabling contactless delivery of narcotics.

The investigation further revealed that Ahirwar received commissions for the deliveries and had allegedly visited Shimla nearly 50 times during the past year to facilitate drug trafficking activities. His involvement has been corroborated through digital evidence, including videos recovered from the mobile phone of the main accused, police said.

Investigators have also uncovered financial transactions amounting to nearly Rs 1.25 crore within this supply chain over the past three months alone, indicating the scale of the network.

Shimla Police said efforts are continuing to identify and apprehend other individuals connected to the drug trafficking syndicate.

Police officials highlighted that anti-narcotics operations in 2026 have yielded significant results, both in terms of seizures and the quality of investigations targeting the source of narcotics rather than merely local peddlers.

Data released by the police show that while approximately one kilogram of heroin was seized in Shimla district during 2025, more than two kilograms of heroin have already been recovered in 2026 so far, reflecting a substantial increase in enforcement action.

Similarly, police have intensified efforts to dismantle supply chains. In 2026, a total of 48 persons were arrested based on backward linkage investigations, compared to only seven such arrests during 2025.

In another significant development, Shimla Police claim to have busted 37 drug supply networks so far in 2026, whereas no major action against organised supply networks was recorded during the previous year.

Officials said the figures demonstrate a strategic shift in policing, with investigations now focusing on identifying and dismantling interstate narcotics syndicates rather than limiting action to small seizures and local arrests. (ANI)