Shimla police has arrested three key interstate drug suppliers from Punjab in two different cases.In the first case, the accused were identified as Navdeep Mehta alias Piyush (22), a resident of Nankhari, district Shimla, currently residing in Zirakpur, Punjab and Sachin Gaur (26), a resident of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, presently residing in Dakoli, Zirakpur.In the second case, the accysed was identified as Guruvachan alias Guru (25), a resident of Dhobiana Basti in Bathinda, Punjab, presently residing in SAS Nagar (Mohali), Punjab. The police said 162 g chitta was seized from his possession.Addressing a press conference in Shimla, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mehar Panwar said all the three accused were key suppliers of two different drug trafficking networks and were busted following arrests of several individuals associated with them.Giving details, she said on June 23, a police team was conducting routine patrol and surveillance near Bhaira Khand Road on NH-05 when it received a tip-off about several individuals carrying a contraband of chitta (heroin).”Acting swiftly, the police set up a checkpoint and intercepted the three accused identified as Anil Ribalta (23), Prashant Mehta (25) and Tejasvi (24), all residents of Rampur Tehsil with 25 g chitta. A case under NDPS Act, 1985 was registered against them and an investigation was initiated,” she said.”During the investigation, backward linkages using technical, digital and financial data were established and Call Detail Records (CDR), Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDR) of the accused were analysed. Investigation revealed that the accused had procured the contraband from Navdeep Mehta and had transferred Rs 11,000 to him. Further investigation revealed that Navdeep had procured the contraband through Sachin Gaur. Following the revelation, police teams were constituted and were dispatched to Zirakpur, from where both the accused were arrested,” said the ASP.Providing details about second case, Panwar said that on June 20, police had raided a homestay in Kanlog locality in Shimla, from where one individual named Gopal Kumar (34), a resident of Bhatinda was arrested with 16 g chitta, after which a case was registered and investigation was initiated.She said that during the investigation, police established backward linkages on the basis of technical and digital evidence and came to know that he had procured the contraband from Guruvachan, a key drug supplier based in Mohali who is associated with an organised drug trafficking network.”A police team was then sent to Mohali and Guruvachan was arrested and about 162 g chitta was seized from his possession. Investigation revealed that he kept large quantities of chitta at his rented accommodation in Mohali and supplied it to the customers as per their requirements,” she said.The ASP further said that investigation is going on and role of other individuals in these networks are being examined.