Two cross-border arms-drug smuggling modules busted in Punjab; six arrested

Chandigarh, March 15 (IANS) In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police have busted two cross-border arms and drug smuggling modules and arrested six accused, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday, adding that six sophisticated pistols and 3.5 kg heroin were recovered from their possession. 

Those arrested have been identified as Karan Singh (26), Gurpreet Singh (22), Makhandeen (22), Rakesh (26), Chamkor Singh (23) and Jasbir Singh (19).

The recovered weapons include three PX 5.7x28MM TISAS Turkey pistols, two .30 bore and one 9MM pistol, along with 60 cartridges. Notably, the sophisticated automatic PX 5.7×28 mm TISAS Turkey series pistols recovered in the operation are among the latest and rare recoveries.

DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation has revealed links of the accused with Pakistan-based smugglers, who were facilitating the supply of weapons and narcotics near the India-Pakistan border using drones.

The accused were operating under a cross-border handler, indicating a larger organised smuggling network, he said.

The DGP said further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages to dismantle the entire network.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (Amritsar) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said during patrolling and search, police teams noticed two suspicious youths, Karan Singh and Gurpreet, riding a motorcycle and upon their search, two TISAS Turkey pistols along with magazines and 20 cartridges were recovered.

During further investigations, one more TISAS Turkey pistol and one .30 bore pistol, along with ammunition, were recovered on their disclosure statement, he said.

He said that both accused belong to villages located near the India-Pakistan international border in Amritsar, which facilitated the smuggling of these weapons across the border.

During interrogation, the duo disclosed their supplier and identified him as Makhandeen, who was later arrested with one .30 bore pistol along with a magazine and ammunition.

In a similar operation, Bhullar said police teams apprehended suspects Rakesh and Chamkor Singh after recovering 200 grams of heroin from their possession. An additional 800 grams of heroin was recovered on their disclosure statement, taking the total recovery in the case to one kg, he added. He said further police teams conducted an operation and arrested Jasbir Singh after recovering 2.5 kg of heroin from his possession.

--IANS

vg/dpb