Punjab police bust cross-border arms smuggling module; 6 held

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], September 11 (ANI): In an intelligence-led operation, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a cross-border organised arms smuggling module and apprehended six persons with six sophisticated weapons & ₹5.75 lakh hawala money.
According to the Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, the syndicate was operated by 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 investigation.
Pargat Singh was initially arrested with two weapons from cross-border consignments. Further investigation led to the arrest of Ajaybir Singh, Karanbir Singh and Shri Ram with additional weapons. Mehakpreet Singh, the kingpin of the module, was apprehended from Goa with three weapons.
The arms trade proceeds were routed through hawala, for which Dinesh Kumar was arrested with ₹5.75 lakh hawala money.
The police team recovered six pistols (including 1 Glock 9MM, 3 PX5 .30 Bore, 1 .32 Bore & 1 .30 Bore) and hawala money. An FIR has been registered at Gate Hakima Police Station in Amritsar.
Further investigation is underway to trace forward & backwards linkages; more arrests and recoveries are expected, said the police.
Earlier this week, Punjab Police busted a Pakistan-backed international drug smuggling cartel operating in the state with the arrest of two key traffickers and the recovery of 12.1 kilograms of heroin.
The breakthrough came after a two-week-long, source-based operation by Faridkot Police under the ongoing "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign initiated on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, on Tuesday said that the arrested traffickers were part of a larger cross-border network and had direct links with Pakistan-based smugglers. The consignment seized was smuggled across the international border and recovered from Village Jhariwala, under the jurisdiction of Sadar Faridkot Police Station.
The accused have been identified as Sukhpreet Singh, a resident of Jhariwala village in Faridkot, and Kadar Singh, a resident of Waan village in Ferozepur.
"Preliminary investigation points to a wider transnational smuggling network. A detailed probe is underway to establish forward and backwards linkages," DGP Yadav said, adding that the nexus is being mapped to trace all those involved. (ANI)