E-Paper
Amritsar: 5 held in Pak-linked arms-narco racket; 1kg heroin, six pistols recovered
After retrieving the consignments of illegal weapons, the arrested persons were further distributed to criminal elements in the region
The Amritsar police dismantled a Pakistan-linked arms and narco network with the arrest of five persons and recovered six sophisticated pistols along with 1.01 kg heroin from their possession, said Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.
Those arrested have been identified as Akash Masih and Prince, both residents of Pandori village in Amritsar rural, Karanbir Singh alias Karan, a resident of Chaugawan village in Amritsar rural, Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Hetampura village in Amritsar rural, and Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja, a resident of Lahian village in Tarn Taran. The recovered pistols include five .30-bore and one 9MM Glock, police said.
DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were coordinating with Pakistan-based handlers via social media applications to collect and deliver illegal weapons and narcotics within Punjab.
“All accused belong to villages located in close proximity to the Pakistan border and were receiving consignments as per the directions of their handlers,” the DGP said, adding that further investigation is ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages in this case and dismantle the entire network.
Amritsar commissioner of police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that during a checkpoint near Chheharta, police teams apprehended accused Akash Masih and Prince, and recovered one .30-bore pistol and one Glock 9mm pistol from their possession.
“Acting on technical leads, teams arrested Karanbir Singh and Sukhwinder Singh, recovering three .30-bore pistols and 1.10kg of heroin from them,” he said. Based on the disclosure of the accused Karanbir, police further arrested Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja, from whom one .30-bore pistol was recovered.
The CP said that after retrieving the consignments of illegal weapons, the arrested persons were further distributed to criminal elements in the region.
Two separate cases, one under Section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Chheharta in Amritsar and another under Sections 25(1-B) and 25 of the Arms Act and Sections 21-C and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar, have been registered, police said.
