*— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE FURTHER SUPPLYING ILLEGAL WEAPONS TO CRIMINAL ELEMENTS, SAYS DGP GAURAV YADAV*
*— FURTHER INVESTIGATION ONGOING TO ESTABLISH FORWARD AND BACKWARD LINKAGES IN THESE CASES: IGP BORDER RANGE GURPREET BHULLAR*
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, October 21:
In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Rural Police has busted a drug trafficking, illegal arms, and explosives smuggling network with the arrest of seven individuals, including three juveniles, in two separate operations and recovered one hand grenade, two .30 bore pistols along with 29 live cartridges and 3.4 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.
Those arrested in the first operation have been identified as Ajay (28), a resident of Mudh Khokhar, and Robin Masih alias Noni (22), a resident of Sultanwind. Those apprehended in the second operation includes Gurlal Singh (20) and Rashpal Singh (18), both residents of Lopoke, along with three 17-year-old juveniles. Police teams have also impounded their one unregistered Hero Splendor motorcycle.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were allegedly in contact with foreign-based smugglers and smuggling illegal weapons for further distribution among criminal elements. Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete network and establish backward and forward linkages, he said.
Sharing details of first operation, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that Amritsar Rural Police had received reliable input about suspect Ajay has been procuring drone-dropped heroin and illegal firearms from across the border to supply them onward on directions from foreign-based gangsters.
Acting swiftly, Amristar Rural Police, in coordination with a Central Agency, set up a special checkpoint in the Manawala area and intercepted Ajay along with his accomplice Robin Masih riding a Splendor motorcycle, he said, while adding that a search of the bag carried by pillion rider Ajay led to the recovery of nearly 3.4 kg heroin and one .30 bore pistol along with 19 live rounds.
In second operation, the IGP during joint patrolling on the occasion of Dussehra festival, a joint team of CIA and SHO Lopoke received specific inputs about cross-border smuggler pushing consignments of arms and explosives through local youth. Acting on the input, police intercepted the group during checking and recovered one live hand grenade, one .30 bore pistol along with 10 live rounds from their possession.
Senior Superintedent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said that accused Ajay is a drug addict and a habitual criminal facing at least five cases, including four under the NDPS Act and one under the Arms Act.
In this regard, two separate cases— FIR No. 204 dated 19.10.2026 under sections 21 and 25 of the NDPS Act and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Chatiwind and FIR No. 334 dated 20.10.2026 under section 25 of the Arms Act and sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act at Police Station Lopoke— have been registered.
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