Cross-Border Arms Smuggling Module Busted; Juvenile Among Six Held
The recovered weapons include five .30-bore pistols and one 9mm PX5 pistol.
Cross-Border Arms Smuggling Module Busted; Juvenile Among Six Held
Amritsar: The Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a Pakistan-operated cross-border arms smuggling module with the arrest of six operatives, including a juvenile. The police also recovered six sophisticated pistols from their possession, according to an official release.
Arrested accused have been identified as Gurbir Singh alias Sonu (28), a resident of Kotli Vasava Singh village in Tarn Taran; Gurpreet Singh alias Gopa (32), Gorka Singh alias Gora, and Rajwinder Singh alias Raju, all residents of Khem Karan in Tarn Taran; Jaspal Singh alias Jass (24) of Bachiwind in Amritsar; and a 16-year-old juvenile from Sultanpur Lodhi.
The recovered weapons include five .30-bore pistols and one 9mm PX5 pistol.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, said preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were in direct contact with a Pakistan-based handler through social media platforms. The handler allegedly shared coordinates for retrieving and further supplying the weapon consignments.
He said the organised gang had been supplying these consignments to criminals operating in the Majha and Doaba regions to carry out nefarious activities. Further investigation is underway to establish the network’s backward and forward linkages and to identify receivers and financial channels.
Operational Details
Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, said the first breakthrough came when a police team, during an intelligence-led operation, arrested suspects Gurbir alias Sonu and Gurpreet alias Gopa and recovered two .30-bore pistols from them.
During interrogation, the entire network came to light. Follow-up raids led to the arrest of their associates, Gorka alias Gora with one .30-bore pistol, Jaspal alias Jass with one .30-bore pistol, and Rajwinder alias Raju with a 9mm PX5 pistol. A juvenile associate was also detained with one .30-bore pistol.
The CP added that the accused Gorka alias Gora and Rajwinder alias Raju have previous criminal cases against them, including offences under the NDPS Act and charges related to rape and the POCSO Act.
Police have also identified two accomplices from Kapurthala district as receivers of the illegal weapons, and further raids are underway to arrest them.
An FIR (No. 260) has been registered under Sections 25(6), 25(7), and 25(8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Cantonment, Amritsar.