Chandigarh, Feb 10 (IANS): Almost a fortnight after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into the drug smuggling case involving the Pakistan-based Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) member Harmeet Singh aka PHD, who is believed to be dead, an NIA court sent three arrested accused to the anti-terror probe agency custody.

According to NIA officials, the court sent three accused -- Nirmal Singh, Satpal Singh and Hiralal -- for seven days to the agency's custody.

The case pertains to the arrest of three accused persons with 500 gms of Heroin and Rs 1.2 lakh in drug money for which a case was registered in Amritsar.

The Punjab Police had arrested three more accused persons were arrested in the month of December 2019.

NIA has taken over the probe on January 22 this year and booked the accused under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UaPA) and NDPS Act.

The NIA official said that during investigation, role of Harmeet Singh, Pakistan based chief of KLF, a proscribed terrorist organisation, has emerged in running a cross-border narco-terror network through drug smugglers, militant elements and hawala operatives based in Punjab and other states in India.

Harmeet Singh is believed to have been killed in Pakistan last month.