Chandigarh:
Boxer Vijender Singh allegedly bought heroin for personal consumption on 12 different occasions from an alleged Canada-based NRI drug dealer who was arrested earlier this month, the Punjab Police said on Sunday.
The police said that the heroin was first procured by Vijender's sparring partner Ram Singh in December from alleged drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon. Both boxers subsequently went together to Kahlon's house near Chandigarh for procuring the drug in January and February, police added.
Police sources say both Kahlon and Vijender knew each other well and even exchanged SMS-es. After examining Vijender's call records, sources confirmed that he was in touch with Kahlon since August last year and the two have spoken to each other on phone about 80 times. However, they did not actively connive with the smugglers in their activities and nothing was recovered from them, the police said.
Vijender's name had cropped up in the drug haul case after a car registered in the name of his wife was found parked at the alleged dealer's home on March 7, when more than 26 kilograms of drugs, including heroin worth Rs 130 crore, was recovered.
The boxer was questioned by the Punjab Police at Panchkula in Haryana but he had refused to share his blood and hair samples. He has till now denied buying or using drugs.
The police are now planning to move court seeking Vijender's blood and hair samples, sources said. "We are also checking if sample tests can be done in the labs here otherwise we will obtain permission to send them to labs outside," said Gurmeet Singh, Superintendent of Police, Detective, Fatehgarh Sahib.
So far, 15 persons including two Canadian and one British citizen have been arrested in the case, whereas more than 25 others are absconding. The police today recovered 10 kg of ICE drug, popularly known as meth (a party drug), which was meant to be exported to UK, Canada and Holland.