Cross-border arms smuggling module busted: Amritsar police arrest six of gang with five pistols
A case has been registered under sections 25(6,7,8) of the Arms Act at the police station cantonment, Amritsar.
Amritsar police on Monday dismantled a Pakistan-operated cross-border arms smuggling module with the arrest of its six operatives, including one juvenile, and recovered six sophisticated pistols from their possession, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.
Those arrested have been identified as Gurbir Singh alias Sonu (28), a resident of village Kotli Vasava Singh in Tarn Taran; Gurpreet Singh alias Gopa (32), Gorka Singh alias Gora, Rajwinder Singh alias Raju— all three are residents of Khem Karan in Tarn Taran; Jaspal Singh alias Jass (24), a resident of Bachiwind in Amritsar and Sultanpur Lodhi based 16-years-old juvenile. The recovered pistols include five .30-bore pistols and one 9mm PX5 pistol.
A case has been registered under sections 25(6,7,8) of the Arms Act at the police station cantonment, Amritsar.
In a release issued here, the DGP said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused persons were in direct contact with a Pakistan-based handler through social media platforms, who was sharing coordinates to retrieve and further supply of weapon consignments. The organised gang had been supplying these weapon consignments to criminals operating in the Majha and Doaba regions to carry out nefarious activities, he said.
The DGP said that further investigation is in progress to establish the network’s backward and forward linkages and to identify receivers and financial channels in this case.
Amritsar commissioner of police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that the first breakthrough came when a police team, in an intelligence-led operation, arrested suspects Gurbir alias Sonu and Gurpreet alias Gopa and recovered two .30-bore pistols.
“Their interrogation revealed the entire network,” he said, adding that follow-up raids led to the arrest of their associates, including Gorka alias Gora with one .30-bore pistol, Jaspal alias Jass with one .30-bore pistol and Rajwinder alias Raju with one 9MM PX5 pistol. A juvenile associate was also detained with one .30-bore pistol, he added.
The CP said that the arrested persons, Gorka alias Gora and Rajwinder alias Raju, have previous criminal cases registered against them, including the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act offences and charges related to rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Two accomplices from Kapurthala district have been identified as receivers of illegal weapons, he said, while adding that raids are being conducted to nab them.
