Chandigarh/Amritsar: In a major crackdown on cross-border crime, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police have dismantled an illegal arms smuggling network with the arrest of five accused and the recovery of eight sophisticated pistols along with live cartridges, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Arshdeep Singh alias D (21), Manpreet Singh alias Mann (26), Sukhraj Singh alias Billa (29), Rahul Gill alias Rahul (22) and Arshdeep Singh alias Gagarh (25). Police said all the accused have previous criminal records, including cases related to the Arms Act, NDPS Act, attempt to murder, kidnapping and prison offences.
The recovered weapons include one 9MM Zigana pistol, one .30 bore PX3 pistol made in China, one .30 bore Beretta pistol made in Italy, three 9MM Glock pistols and two .32 bore pistols.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were in touch with a foreign-based smuggler through virtual numbers. The module allegedly received consignments of weapons and drugs through drones from across the border for further distribution to criminal elements in Punjab.
Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the operation began with the arrest of Rahul Gill, from whose possession two pistols were recovered. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Arshdeep alias Gagarh and the recovery of a Glock pistol.
Further raids resulted in the arrest of Arshdeep alias D and Manpreet alias Mann near Meeri Peeri Academy Road in Chheharta, Amritsar, with police recovering two more pistols and seizing additional weapons based on their disclosures. Interrogation later led to the arrest of Sukhraj alias Billa, from whom a .30 bore Beretta pistol was recovered.
Police have registered two separate FIRs under relevant sections of the Arms Act at Chheharta Police Station, Amritsar. Further investigations are underway to trace the network’s forward and backward linkages and identify other operatives connected to the smuggling module.
