CHANDIGARH, May 3:
The Amritsar Police has arrested four persons allegedly linked with a cross-border arms smuggling module and recovered seven sophisticated pistols from their possession, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said today.
Those arrested have been identified as Samarbir Singh alias Simar (21), a resident of Mahindra Colony in Amritsar; Satnam Singh alias Satta (23), a native of village Fatehpur, Tarn Taran and presently residing at Krishna Nagar in Amritsar; Tanupreet Singh (26), a resident of Pratap Nagar in Amritsar; and Karanjot Singh alias Sajan (26), a resident of Krishna Nagar in Amritsar.
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The recovered weapons include two Austria-made 9mm Glock pistols, four .30 bore pistols made in China, and one .30 bore pistol.
DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were in contact with Pakistan-based smugglers through social media platforms.
The consignments of illegal arms were delivered from across the border through drones and were further distributed among criminals through the network, he said.
The DGP said further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages of this network to identify other associates.
Sharing operational details, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said in a well planned operation based on confidential inputs, Samarbir alias Simar was arrested with two Glock pistols.
On further interrogation and follow-up action, three of his associates — Satnam alias Satta, Tanupreet Singh and Karanjot alias Sajan — were arrested, he said, adding that based on their disclosures five more pistols were recovered.
Bhullar said Satnam is involved in a previous case involving recovery of commercial quantity of contraband, where 8 kg of heroin was recovered from his possession.
Satnam and Karanjot reside in the same neighbourhood and were working together on the directions of a Pakistan-based handler, he added.
He said the probe has also revealed that all the arrestee are well educated and had earlier worked as salesmen in a private firm. The accused reside in nearby localities and were known to each other, he added.
A case under various provisions of the Arms Act has been registered at the Cantonment police station in Amritsar. (PTI)
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