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Punjab: Pak-linked arms smuggling module busted; 1 held with 10 pistols
The DGP said the accused is a notorious narcotics smuggler with two cases pertaining to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act registered against him, and had recently come out on bail
Punjab Police’s counter intelligence (CI) wing, Amritsar, has busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrested one of its operative after recovering 10 .30-bore sophisticated pistols along with magazines from his possession, said director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Thursday.
The DGP said the accused is a notorious narcotics smuggler with two cases pertaining to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act registered against him, and had recently come out on bail.
The development came a fortnight after the CI, Amritsar, had busted a similar cross-border narcotics and illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of its three operatives— Sarabjit Singh and Kulwinder Singh, both residents of Ferozepur, and Ashmandeep Singh of Tarn Taran — and recovered eight sophisticated weapons, 1 kg heroin and ₹2.9 lakh drug money from their possession.
Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused has been working in collusion with Pak-based smuggler, who has been using drones to drop weapon consignments from across the border. The arrested accused was further distributing the arms to criminals and gangsters across Punjab with intention to fuel criminal activities in the state, he said.
Sharing operation details, the DGP said that teams of CI, Amritsar, received specific intelligence about retrieval of weapons consignments from the India-Pakistan border area falling near Dall village in Tarn Taran. Acting swiftly, police teams have intercepted the suspect Harjinder Singh from near Bohru Pul at Amritsar-Jhabal road, when he was going to deliver the consignment to some party, and recovered illegal weapons from his possession, he said.
Further investigations are underway. A case under Sections 25, 25(1)(A) and 25(1)(B) of the Arms Act and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at the state special operation cell police station in Amritsar, said officials.
