Amritsar cops bust drugs, arms smuggling racket

Acting on intelligence inputs, the Special Cell of Amritsar Rural Police has busted a transnational drugs and weapons smuggling network and recovered eight foreign-made sophisticated pistols from three traffickers in this connection. They were in touch with a Pakistan-based notorious weapon smuggler, identified as Rana.

Amritsar rural SSP Maninder Singh said that those arrested were identified as Fatehbir Singh alias Gandhi, Jagroop Singh alias Lalli and Ranjit Singh alias Kaka, all residents of Vaniake in Lopoke area. They were intercepted at a check-point set up on the village Brar and Kohala link road after intelligence inputs.

The police seized three Glock Gen 43 pistols (9mm), one Glock 26 Gen pistol (9mm), a .30 bore pistol, a PX5 .30 bore pistol, a Zigana pistol, 10 live cartridges of .30 bore calibre, a motorcycle used for transportation of smuggled weapons and three mobile phones.

“Three persons travelling on a motorcycle were intercepted under suspicious circumstances. During preliminary questioning, the suspects were apprehended and sophisticated weapons were confiscated from them,” said Maninder Singh.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the arrested persons were in direct contact with the primary suspect, identified as Dugh, a resident of Manawala. He said during technical and scientific investigations, the police found that they were in active communication with Pakistan-based arms smugglers involved in pushing weapons into Indian territory.

A case under the Arms Act was registered against them and further investigation was underway to dismantle the entire terror network.