Shimla: A suspected drug trafficker died after allegedly swallowing heroin in a desperate attempt to evade arrest during a police operation in Solan district on Thursday.According to Baddi police, a checkpoint was set up near the Barotiwala toll barrier Thursday evening following intelligence about a drug consignment being transported from Haryana.The driver of a Haryana-registered car broke through the barricade, sped off and crashed into an oncoming truck, police said.The driver, Vikram Thakur alias Vicky of Goyla Panner village in Solan district, swallowed the heroin to avoid arrest, the police added.He was immediately taken to Baddi Hospital but died during treatment. Three other occupants of the vehicle — Vikram Singh, Gaurav Kumar and Ashish Mehta, all residents of Barotiwala in Baddi tehsil — were arrested.Police recovered around 9 grams of heroin, mobile phones, an electronic weighing scale, a dagger, aluminium foil, and other drug-related items from the car, a police officer said.A case has been registered in this regard under the relevant sections of the BNS and the NDPS Act, the officer added.
