Inside a modest dwelling at Rorawala Khurd, a village located 500 metres from the fence of the Indo-Pak border, there is little to suggest that its inhabitant is now the subject of a police investigation into cross-border drugs and arms smuggling.Deepak Singh (24), who lives close to the border and used to see the barbed fence daily, was not afraid of it. According to the police, over the course of three months, Deepak made over 30 trips to retrieve drug and weapon consignments dropped by drones — roughly making one visit every three days. The frequency of the alleged trips has become a key focus of the investigation.According to the investigation, he used to receive between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for retrieving each consignment and delivering it further. Deepak does not have a past criminal record. Tarsem Singh, sarpanch of Rorawala Khurd, said his family had shifted to the village about a year ago after his grandfather’s death. His family mostly remained away for work. Within months of arriving, Deepak got addicted to drugs and later, turned to smuggling.Deepak’s father builds and repairs chimneys in Ludhiana. The residence near the border is now locked from outside. The family left after Deepak’s arrest and went underground, fearing harassment by the police. The boundary walls have wide cracks. A peep through the open sides of the gates reveals a two-room structure with a newly constructed pucca room and an outdoor unit of an air conditioner on the rooftop.“His role was relatively simple but crucial — reach a specified location close to the border, collect the consignment and bring it back,” said Amandeep Singh, SHO, Gharinda police station. The consignments included heroin and firearms. Deepak’s arrest and the seizure of 5 kg of heroin and 15 pistols have opened a larger probe into the network he was allegedly a part of.Deepak allegedly received locations from his handlers and travelled to the border to retrieve the consignments. His alleged accomplice, Shubhpreet, handled the storage and subsequent distribution, said IG (Border Range) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.Investigators have identified a Pakistan-based handler, who used the pseudonym ‘Bhanu’, as a key operator. A North America-based handler is also suspected of connecting the accused. “A few more names have cropped up during the probe and efforts to locate them are underway,” the police said.