Chandigarh, March 15 The Punjab Police said on Sunday that it had arrested six people, who were allegedly part of two separate cross-border arms and drug smuggling modules with links to Pakistani smugglers.
The Amritsar Police recovered six sophisticated pistols and 60 live cartridges in the first case, and 3.5 kilograms of heroin in the second instance, DGP Gaurav Yadav said.
The arrested individuals are: Karan Singh (26), Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi (22), Rakesh alias Keshu (26) and Chamkor Singh alias Chamkor (23), all from Khemkaran in Tarn Taran; Makhandeen alias Makhan (22) from Nag Kalan in Amritsar, and Jasbir Singh alias Beera alias Raghu (19), a resident of Mullechak village in Amritsar.
The recovered weapons included three PX 5.7×28mm TISAS Turkey pistols, two .30 bore pistols, and one 9mm pistol, along with 60 live cartridges.
Notably, the sophisticated automatic PX 5.7x28mm TISAS Turkey pistols are among the latest in the weapon series, and one of the rarest recoveries.
Yadav said that preliminary investigations indicated the arrested individuals' links with Pakistani-based smugglers, who have been facilitating the supply of weapons and narcotics near the Indo-Pak border using drones.
The accused were operating under the instructions of a cross-border handler, hinting at a larger organised smuggling network, DGP Yadav said, adding that further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages in the case.
Sharing operational details, Amritsar Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that a police patrol team stopped two seemingly suspicious youths, Karan Singh and Gurpreet, riding a motorcycle. Upon searching them, the police recovered two TISAS Turkey pistols, along with magazines and 20 live cartridges.
Following their disclosure during further investigation, one more TISAS Turkey pistol, one .30 bore pistol, and one 9mm pistol were recovered.
Both the arrested accused belonged to villages located near the Indo-Pak border, which made cross-border smuggling of weapons convenient, Yadav said.
The duo also disclosed about their supplier, Makhandeen, who was later arrested with one .30 bore pistol, magazines, and other ammunition.
In a similar manner, the police apprehended Rakesh and Chamkor Singh, and recovered 200 grams of heroin from their possession. An additional 800 grams of the narcotic were recovered after their further interrogation.
Yadav said, based on credible information, the police conducted a well-coordinated operation and arrested Jasbir Singh, recovering 2.5 kilograms of heroin from his possession.
Separate FIRs have been registered in the matter, he added.