Chandigarh: Punjab police on Friday claimed to have busted a cross-border arms smuggling module linked to Pakistan based-smugglers with the arrest of its seven operatives including a juvenile and recovered 15 sophisticated pistols from their possession in Amritsar.
Accused and Arms Seized
Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that the arrested have been identified as Shamsher Singh alias Sima (30) and Amandeep Singh alias Bobby (23), Balwinder Singh alias Kaka (26), Gurdev Singh (40), Karanpreet Singh (19) and Harman Singh (19) and one 17-years-old juvenile.
The recovered weapons include nine 9MM Glock pistols and six .30 bore Pistols, he said.
Pakistan Link Through Social Media
DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were in contact with a Pak-based handler through social media and were actively involved in procuring and supplying illegal weapons across Punjab.
Juvenile’s Role Near Border
Commissioner of Police (CP), Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that a juvenile, who was in contact with Pakistan-based handlers and was picking up consignments due to his village’s close proximity to the international border to further deliver within Punjab, was first arrested with two pistols.
Further Arrests and Recoveries
Based on the juvenile’s interrogation, Shamsher Singh and Amandeep Singh were arrested with three pistols including one Glock, he said, while adding that the duo were assisting the juvenile in delivering weapons. Following technical and forensic leads, accused Balwinder Singh was arrested with two Glock pistols and one .30 bore pistol.
Key Operatives Traced
The CP said that during technical analysis of the juvenile’s mobile phone, the role of Gurdev Singh also surfaced with both found to be in each other’s contacts and connected to a common Pakistan-based handler through various social media platforms. On the handler’s directions, they distributed weapons through their local associates, he said.
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Main Node Cracked
He said that during the subsequent investigation, the main operative of this node, Gurdev Singh, was arrested along with Karanpreet Singh and Harman Singh and a total of six Glock pistols and one .30 bore pistol were recovered from Gurdev’s possession.
