DEHRADUN: In a joint interstate operation, the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF), Punjab Police arrested a Punjab-based fugitive allegedly involved in a cross-border network that smuggled illegal weapons and narcotics into India using drones from Pakistan.
The accused, identified as Ishanpreet Singh, a resident of Amritsar, was arrested from the Keshavnagar area of Bajpur in Udham Singh Nagar district on Monday morning.
According to police, Ishanpreet had been absconding since a raid at his residence in Amritsar led to the recovery of illegal firearms and heroin. Investigators suspect he was part of a network that received weapons and narcotics dropped by drones across the India-Pakistan border.
Uttarakhand STF SSP Ajay Singh said the arrest was made after Punjab Police shared intelligence indicating that the accused was hiding in Uttarakhand.
“Punjab Police informed us that the accused was wanted in a serious case involving illegal weapons and narcotics allegedly supplied through drones from across the Pakistan border. Acting on the input, an STF team was deployed and a joint operation was carried out with Punjab ANTF and local police,” Singh said.
Following sustained surveillance, the accused was apprehended from Bajpur and later handed over to Punjab Police for further investigation and legal proceedings.
The case stems from a search operation conducted on May 23, 2026, by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Amritsar, and the Border Security Force (BSF) at Ishanpreet’s residence in Surta Singh Colony, Narayangarh, under Chheharta police station limits.
Police said the accused escaped by jumping from the rooftop during the raid. However, the search team recovered 12 illegal pistols, including three Beretta pistols, three Zigana pistols and six China-made pistols, along with 20 magazines and around 900 grams of heroin.
“The detailed questioning and further investigation will be carried out by Punjab Police, as the primary case is registered there,” SSP Singh said.
Officials said the arrest could help investigators uncover wider links in the cross-border arms and drug smuggling network operating along the Punjab border.