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Three cross-border smuggling modules busted, 7.5 kg heroin, six pistols seized in Amritsar
Punjab Police on Thursday busted three modules involved in trafficking of narcotics and illegal arms, arresting five persons and recovering 7.5 kg heroin, 1 kg opium, six sophisticated pistols and ₹10 lakh in drug money
In a crackdown on cross-border smuggling, Punjab Police on Thursday busted three modules involved in trafficking of narcotics and illegal arms, arresting five persons and recovering 7.5 kg heroin, 1 kg opium, six sophisticated pistols and ₹10 lakh in drug money. Police said the accused were linked to foreign-based handlers operating across the border.
The operations were carried out separately by the Amritsar commissionerate police and Amritsar rural police.
Director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the investigations have revealed that the arrested accused were working at the behest of foreign-based handlers, who were facilitating the smuggling of narcotics and illegal weapons into Punjab for further distribution among criminal elements. He said efforts are underway to identify all associates and dismantle the entire supply chain.
In the first operation, the Amritsar commissionerate police busted a cross-border illegal arms and narcotics smuggling module with the arrest of Joga Singh (45) of Dall village and Manpreet Singh (28) of Kali village, both in Tarn Taran district.
Police recovered six sophisticated pistols, including two .30 bore X-Shot pistols, two .30 bore China-made pistols, one .30 bore Türkiye Zigana pistol and one .30 bore PX5 Storm pistol, besides 1 kg heroin, 1 kg opium and ₹10,000 in cash. Two motorcycles allegedly used for smuggling activities were also impounded.
Amritsar commissioner of police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said acting on reliable intelligence, police teams first arrested Joga Singh and recovered four .30 bore pistols from his possession. During interrogation, two more pistols were recovered on the basis of his statement.
In a follow-up operation, Manpreet Singh was arrested with 1 kg heroin, while 1 kg opium and ₹10,000, suspected to be drug proceeds, were recovered later based on his disclosure.
According to the investigation, Joga was allegedly operating an illegal arms supply network, while Manpreet was running a cross-border drug smuggling module under the directions of the same foreign-based handler.
Police said Joga is a habitual offender with 21 criminal cases registered against him across Tarn Taran, Amritsar rural, Kapurthala and Ludhiana rural police districts. The cases include charges of murder, offences under the Arms Act and the NDPS Act, besides theft, dacoity and robbery.
Two women among three held
In another major operation, Amritsar rural Police dismantled two narcotics networks with the arrest of Shamsher Singh, alias Shera, Charanjit Kaur, alias Sharanjit Kaur, both residents of Bachiwind village, and Jasvinder Singh, a resident of Rayya in Amritsar district.
Police recovered 6.5 kg heroin and ₹9.9 lakh in suspected drug money, besides impounding a Hyundai Creta SUV allegedly used for transporting narcotics.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said acting on specific intelligence regarding the involvement of Shamsher and Charanjit Kaur in drug smuggling, police laid a naka under the jurisdiction of Ajnala police station and intercepted their Creta vehicle. During the search, 6 kg heroin was recovered from the vehicle.
In another operation, police arrested Jasvinder Singh from the Rayya area and recovered 510 grams of heroin and ₹9.9 lakh in drug money from his possession.
The SSP said further arrests and recoveries are expected as the investigation progresses.
