CHANDIGARH, Oct 5: Punjab Police today said they have arrested two members of a module that used drones for cross-border smuggling of arms and ammunition.
The arrested accused are Jaskaran Singh, an undertrial inmate, from Bhikhiwind and Rattanbir Singh of Khemkaran in Tarn Taran district. Jaskaran is currently lodged at Sub Jail Goindwal Sahib while Rattanbir is out on bail.
Five China-made .30 bore pistol and five USA-made 9mm pistols along with eight spare magazines were seized from their possession, Additional Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence, Amritsar) Amarjit Singh Bajwa said.
He said a mobile phone was also seized from Jaskaran’s barrack.
Jaskaran was brought on a production warrant in a case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which was registered at State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar in August 2022, the Additional IG said.
“During questioning, Jaskaran confessed that he was using a mobile phone in jail to contact Pakistan-based smugglers through WhatsApp for smuggling of narcotics, arms and ammunition from Pakistan via drones,” the police officer said in a statement.
The Additional IG said Jaskaran took the help of Rattanbir, who retrieved the consignments dropped via drones at different border areas.
Rattanbir is a co-accused in various NDPS cases with Jaskaran, he said.
Bajwa said a consignment of five .30 bore pistols and four spare magazines were recovered from the location revealed by Jaskaran at Pidhi village on Tarn Taran-Ferozepur Road. The consignment was concealed by Rattanbir on the intervening night of September 28 and 29.
He said acting on Jaskaran’s inputs, the police teams of Counter Intelligence, Amritsar arrested Rattanbir from Khemkaran, and he revealed the location of five 9mm pistols and the four spare magazines near a drain at Machhike village in Khemkaran.
An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the law at SSOC Amritsar police station. (PTI)
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