The Amritsar Rural Police, in a joint operation with a central agency, busted multiple illegal arms and drug trafficking networks with the arrest of seven people, including three juveniles, and recovered a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, two pistols and over 15 kg of narcotics.
The haul includes 7.9 kg heroin, 5.1 kg opium and 2.3 kg crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ICE, besides 106 live cartridges, a drone, a GPS tracking device and five mobile phones, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
Apart from the three juveniles, the arrested accused include Gurkirpal Singh, alias Gurpal, 20, a resident of Cheecha village; Lovepreet Singh, alias Navpreet Singh, alias Nav, 25, of Dhariwal village in Lopoke; Balkar Singh, 41, of Kotli Dusandhi; Sukhjit Singh, 19, a resident of Ajnala.
The DGP said preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in contact with foreign-based handlers who facilitated the supply of illegal weapons and narcotics for further distribution among criminal elements.
Sharing operational details, Border Range inspector general of police (IGP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the RPG-22 Netto anti-tank rocket launcher was recovered from Gurkirpal and his juvenile associate during a joint operation of the Amritsar Rural police and central agencies.
In another operation, he said teams from the Lopoke police station, along with the Border Security Force (BSF) , arrested Lovepreet near the Border Outpost (BOP) in Uttar Dhariwal area, and recovered two 9mm Glock pistols, two magazines and ammunition from him.
{{/usCountry}}In another operation, he said teams from the Lopoke police station, along with the Border Security Force (BSF) , arrested Lovepreet near the Border Outpost (BOP) in Uttar Dhariwal area, and recovered two 9mm Glock pistols, two magazines and ammunition from him.
{{/usCountry}}Two of his associates were also identified and raids were being conducted to nab them, he said.
The IGP said in the third operation, teams from the Bhindi Saida police station, along with BSF busted an ICE smuggling module with the arrest of Balkar, Sukhjit and two juveniles, leading to recovery of 2.3 kg ICE drug from their possession.
Investigation revealed that Balkar, whose agricultural land touched the international border fence, had arranged the cross-border drone drop and engaged local youths from Ajnala for distribution, said Bhullar.
Amritsar Rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said two additional border recovery operations under teams from the Bhindi Saida police station led to the recovery of 7.9 kg of drone-dropped heroin and a tracker device from Awan Lakha Singh village.
During a joint night search with BSF in the BOP Fatehpur area, a packet containing 5.1 kg of opium was also seized, he said.
In this regard, five separate cases were registered under relevant provisions of the Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, said officials.