Five Linked to Cross-Border Arms Smuggling Module Held with 8 Pistols

Dwarka Nath Rana Amritsar, May 27

Dwarka Nath Rana Amritsar, May 27

In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of five accused persons and recovered eight sophisticated pistols along with live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.Those arrested have been identified as Arshdeep Singh alias D (21), a resident of Guru Ki Wadali in Amritsar; Manpreet Singh alias Mann (26), a resident of village Bhaini in Amritsar; Sukhraj Singh alias Billa (29), a resident of vil-lage Naushera Dhalla in Tarn Taran; Rahul Gill alias Rahul (22), a native of Bhikhiwind and presently residing at vil-lage Drajke in Tarn Taran; and Arshdeep Singh alias Gagarh (25), a resident of vil-lage Lohke in Tarn Taran. Arrested accused persons have previous criminal antecedents, with cases under the Arms Act, NDPS Act, Attempt to Murder, Kidnapping, and Prison Act registered against them.The recovered pistols include one 9MM Zigana, one .30 bore PX3 (Made in China), one .30 bore Beretta (Made in Italy), three 9MM Glock and two .32 bore pistols.DGP Gaurav Yadav said that pre-liminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were in contact with a foreign-based smuggler through virtual numbers. The module was receiving consignments of weapons and drugs via drones from across the border for further distribution to criminal ele-ments in Punjab, he said.The DGP said that further investi-gation is underway to estab-lish forward and backward linkages in this case to iden-tify other members associat-ed with the network.