CHANDIGARH: In two separate operations, Punjab police seized a cache of arms and ammunition and arrested eight alleged accused. In the operations, 33 sophisticated weapons were recovered.
In one of the operations, the state police busted a cross-border arms smuggling module near Muhar Jamsher village, close to the Indo-Pak border, in Fazilka, arresting two weapon suppliers and seizing 27 .30 bore pistols along with 470 live cartridges.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday that Counter Intelligence (CI) Ferozepur, in a joint operation with the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) Fazilka, busted the arms smuggling module.
Those arrested have been identified as Mangal Singh alias Mangali, a resident of Tejha Rahela in Fazilka, and Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Muhar Jamsher village in Fazilka.
Yadav said preliminary investigations revealed that the weapons were sourced from Pakistan through a foreign-based entity and were meant for criminal gangs in the state.
“The arrested accused were attempting to deliver these arms to ground operatives of criminal groups on the directions of their foreign handlers,” he said.
Sharing operation details, Assistant Inspector General of Police (CI Ferozepur) Gursewak Singh Brar said that the joint secret operation was launched after receiving reliable inputs.
“The identity and role of the foreign entity, along with its broader network, are under comprehensive investigation. In this regard, a case has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station SSOC Fazilka,” he added.
Meanwhile, Amritsar Commissionerate Police busted another cross-border arms smuggling module, arresting six members and recovering six sophisticated weapons along with Rs 5.75 lakh in hawala money.
The Punjab DGP said that those arrested have been identified as Pargat Singh of Vaan Tara Singh village in Tarn Taran, Ajaybir Singh alias Ajay of Gali Punjab Singh in Amritsar, Karanbir Singh alias Karan of Pal Avenue in Amritsar, Shri Ram of Pal Avenue in Amritsar, Mehakpreet Singh alias Rohit of Officer Colony in Amritsar and Dinesh Kumar of Adampur in Jalandhar.
The recovered weapons include one 9MM Glock, three .30 bore PX5 pistols, one .32 bore and .30 bore pistol.
The syndicate was being operated by arrested accused Mehakpreet Singh alias Rohit under the directions of his foreign-based handlers via social media. During the operation, multiple recoveries were made at different stages of the investigation, he said.
He said further investigations are underway to trace the forward and backward linkages to identify other members of the module in both the cases, and track the origins of the smuggled weapons.
“More arrests and recoveries are expected in coming days,” he added.
Sharing details of the second operation, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said Pargat Singh was initially arrested with two weapons, which were part of cross border consignments and meant to be distributed further through the network.
Further, during the course of the investigation, other members of the module—Ajaybir, Karanbir and Shri Ram—were arrested along with one pistol, he said.
“The kingpin of the module identified as Mehakpreet was arrested from Goa and three weapons were recovered from his possession,” he added.
He said the probe has found that the money for the arms smuggling trade was routed through the hawala network in which an accused Dinesh was arrested.
A case has been registered in this regard under section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Gate Hakima in Amritsar.