CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police have busted an inter-state arms smuggling gang that allegedly delivered illegal weapons to customers' doorsteps by posing as parcel delivery personnel. Police seized 15 illegal pistols sourced from Madhya Pradesh and 30 live cartridges, and arrested four youths in their early twenties.
Sources said the gang allegedly procured weapons at low prices from Madhya Pradesh and sold them at higher rates to gangsters in Punjab.
Police claimed the accused were in direct contact with jailed gangster Sonu Khatri and were planning a major crime in the state. All four accused are college dropouts who allegedly entered the illegal arms trade to make quick money.
The seized weapons were allegedly meant for members of Sonu Khatri's gang, which faces multiple cases of murder, attempted murder, dacoity, kidnapping and robbery.
The arrested have been identified as Vishal (20) of Garhdiwala, Hoshiarpur; Subhash of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh; Jinder alias Sagar (21) of Talla, Hoshiarpur; and Badal (20) of Bhargav Camp in Jalandhar.
A team led by SP Vaibhav Choudhary and Patiala CIA in-charge Pardeep Singh Bajwa arrested the accused from Basantpura near the national highway in Rajpura.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, Varun Sharma said that the accused wore uniforms of Flipkart and other delivery companies to avoid suspicion.
"They packed weapons in delivery cartons and old boxes to make them look like genuine parcels. Their questioning is vital to ascertain how many times earlier and to whom they supplied weapons. The police is grilling the accused to uncover their modus operandi and possible targets," he added.
In a separate operation, Amritsar Rural Police busted an illegal arms and explosives smuggling module by arresting three individuals, including a juvenile, and recovering a hand grenade and three sophisticated rifles, including an AK-47, from their possession.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said those arrested have been identified as Aakashbir Singh alias Kaashi of Bhaini Rajputtan in Amritsar, Joban Singh of Balagan in Amritsar, and a juvenile.
The recovered weapons include an AK-47 rifle, a modified M4-type .30-bore automatic weapon, a specially modified .30-bore semi-automatic weapon, and five magazines.
Yadav said further investigation was underway to establish the source and intended use of the recovered weapons, identify those associated with the accused, and uncover the entire network.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar (Rural), Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said police teams from Gharinda police station received specific information that Aakashbir alias Kaashi, Joban Singh and their juvenile accomplice were procuring ultra-modern weapons, ammunition and grenades through drones from across the border.
Acting on the information, police teams conducted an operation near Attari and arrested the three accused after recovering a cache of weapons comprising a hand grenade and three sophisticated rifles from their possession, he said.
He said further investigation was underway and more arrests and recoveries were likely in the coming days.
A case has been registered under Sections 25, 25(1)(a), 25(6), 25(7) and 25(8) of the Arms Act, and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act at Gharinda police station in Amritsar Rural.
Meanwhile, in another operation, Counter Intelligence (CI), Amritsar busted a cross-border narcotics smuggling module by arresting two operatives and recovering 30 kg of heroin from their possession.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar in Amritsar and Gagandeep Singh of Bhalla Colony in Amritsar.
Apart from recovering the heroin haul, police also impounded a Hero Deluxe motorcycle (registration number PB02-DU-3533) allegedly used to transport the consignment.
This is the third major narcotics smuggling module busted by CI Amritsar since July 6, taking the total heroin recovery to 68 kg in just 10 days.
Earlier, on July 6, CI Amritsar arrested three individuals and recovered 13 kg of heroin. On July 7, three more individuals were arrested with 25 kg of heroin.
Yadav said preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were acting on the directions of a foreign-based handler linked to cross-border smugglers.
"They were involved in collecting heroin consignments from different locations and delivering them to other parties across the state," he said.
Sharing operational details, he said police teams of CI Amritsar received information that Gurpreet Singh and Gagandeep Singh had recently retrieved a large consignment of heroin and were expected to deliver it to another party near the Gaunsabad area under Kambo police station in Amritsar.
Acting swiftly, police teams set up checkpoints, intercepted the accused near Gaunsabad while they were travelling on a motorcycle, and recovered 30 kg of heroin from their possession, he added.
Yadav said further investigation was underway to establish the forward and backward linkages in the case and uncover the entire supply chain.
A case has been registered under Sections 21, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act at the State Special Operations Cell police station in Amritsar.
