Chandigarh, April 11 – The Punjab Police have cracked a cross-border drug and illegal weapon smuggling racket with the arrest of three accused, including a minor, and recovered 6.5 kg of heroin, one .30 caliber pistol along with six cartridges, and Rs 1 lakh in drug money from their possession, State Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Saturday.
The arrested individuals are identified as Nishan Singh, a resident of Mulianwal in Batala; Ravipal Singh, a resident of Raipur; and one minor.
Besides recovering the contraband and drug money, the police have also impounded their car.
This development came following the investigation and questioning of two accused – Vansh and Sukhchain alias Jashan, who were arrested in connection with the firing incident in Batala on March 30, related to extortion.
Two .30 caliber pistols were recovered from their possession.
DGP Yadav said the significant recovery of drugs and weapons highlights the strong connection between extortion, drug trafficking, and illegal arms networks.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that weapons were being supplied to operatives within the network.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Border Range), Sandeep Goel, said that the investigation has revealed that the accused were acting on the directions of their foreign-based handler.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police (Batala) Mehtab Singh said that during the investigation, accused Vansh and Sukhchain disclosed that they had received weapons from suspects, one is a minor and the other is identified as Ravipal.
Acting swiftly on their disclosures, police teams arrested Ravipal Singh and his minor accomplice, who confessed to coordinating the smuggling of weapons and drugs.
"Ravipal revealed that he had delivered a consignment to Nishan Singh on the directions of their overseas handler," the SSP said, adding that acting on this lead, police teams intercepted Nishan Singh's car near Kamla Devi Avenue in Amritsar and arrested him, leading to the recovery of 6.5 kg of heroin, one .30 caliber pistol along with six cartridges, and Rs 1 lakh in drug money from his possession.