Interstate arms racket busted: Disguised as e-commerce delivery boys, 4 held with 15 pistols in Patiala

Used to travel by buses, trains wearing e-commerce uniforms, carrying weapons inside firm’s old delivery boxes

The Patiala police have dismantled an interstate arms smuggling racket where operatives disguised themselves as e-commerce delivery personnel to transport illegal weapons across state borders.

They procured cheap country-made weapons from the interior regions of Madhya Pradesh and sold them to Punjab-based gangsters at highly inflated premium rates, police said.

Clad in delivery uniforms and carrying old corporate cartons, the gang successfully evaded checkpoints by blending in as routine courier workers.

Patiala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Varun Sharma revealed during a press conference on Monday that police arrested four youths, all aged between 20 and 21. Law enforcement successfully recovered 15 illegal .32-bore pistols and 30 live cartridges from their possession.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Vishal (20) and Jinder, alias Sagar (21), of Hoshiarpur, Badal (20) of Jalandhar, and Subhash of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. According to investigators, the youths turned to arms smuggling for quick financial gains. The gang routinely travelled by public buses and trains wearing e-commerce uniforms, carrying weapons packed inside old delivery boxes to mimic legitimate consignments. They procured cheap country-made weapons from the interior regions of Madhya Pradesh and sold them to Punjab-based gangsters at highly inflated premium rates, police said.

The SSP disclosed that the syndicate was operating in direct contact with jailed gangster Sonu Khatri, a notorious criminal facing multiple charges of murder, kidnapping and dacoity. The seized weapon cache was to be delivered directly to active members of Khatri’s gang. Acting on a precise intelligence tip-off, a police team intercepted and apprehended the four suspects near Basantpura on the National Highway in Rajpura, he added.

Investigators are now interrogating the accused to trace the wider interstate supply chain, establish the volume of past shipments and identify other Punjab gangs linked to the network.