Chandigarh, Sept. 3 -- In a major breakthrough against drug trafficking, the Chandigarh Police crime branch has dismantled a major US-based inter-state drug trafficking syndicate, arresting three men, including a notorious gangster with a history of heinous crimes. Authorities recovered a commercial quantity of heroin valued at Rs.1.5 crore, a weapon, and a car from their possession. The operation began on August 30 when a crime branch team, acting on a tip-off, apprehended Baljit Singh alias Baba (55), a resident of Batala, from Sector 43. Police seized 109.86 grams of heroin, a country-made pistol, and a live cartridge from him. Based on his interrogation, two of his associates were also arrested. Parvinder Pal Singh alias Midda, 41, a resident of Sector 48, from whom 121 grams of heroin and a Swift car were recovered. Mandeep Singh alias Mandy, 32, a resident of Sector 49, from whom 25 grams of heroin were seized. In total, the police confiscated 255.86 grams of heroin, a pistol with one cartridge, and a car. A case has been registered against all three individuals under the NDPS Act and Arms Act, and they are currently in police custody. Investigations revealed that the syndicate was operated by US-based smugglers Bhupinder and Dalbir, who used a network of local peddlers to distribute drugs in India. They reportedly used encrypted messaging apps to coordinate their activities, with separate handlers for cash collection and drug delivery to avoid detection. Baljit Singh alias Baba was a key associate of the foreign smugglers. He was previously linked to Jasmeet alias Lucky, a narco gangster arrested in the US for cross-border smuggling. Baba and Lucky first met in Hoshiarpur jail in 2013 and later worked together in the region. After Lucky's arrest, Baba continued the syndicate's operations in the tricity under the new handlers, Bhupinder and Dalbir. Baljit Singh alias Baba, 55, is a repeat offender with a history of eight criminal cases, including a double murder in 2000 and the murder of a Naib Tehsildar in 2010 while on parole. He also has past cases related to rioting, robbery, arms possession, and drug trafficking across Punjab. Despite multiple imprisonments, he maintained his drug connections and expanded his operations after being released on bail in 2017. Parvinder Pal Singh, an MBA and MA degree holder, previously worked in a finance company. He was arrested in a rape case in 2022, after which he came into contact with Baba. Both were also booked together in an NDPS case in Hoshiarpur earlier this year. Midda allegedly managed the logistics and finances for the drug racket in Chandigarh. Mandeep Singh, a B.Tech graduate in computer science, left his job at a telecom firm to prepare for government exams. After facing repeated failures and personal setbacks, he became addicted to drugs and eventually entered peddling under the influence of Baba and Lucky. He has been supplying drugs in the tricity area for the past one and a half years....