Six nabbed with 7 pistols in cross-border arms racket in Amritsar
The Amritsar Commissionerate Police have busted yet another cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of six persons, including a juvenile, and recovered seven sophisticated pistols from their possession.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the accused were in contact with a foreign-based handler operating from Portugal, who was facilitating the smuggling of weapons from across the Pakistan border using drones. The consignment was meant to be supplied to criminal elements, he added.
Those arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi (27), of Burj village in Amritsar; Manish Kumar, alias Jerry (24), of Sunder Nagar in Batala; Saroop Singh, alias Roop (27), of Chuchakwal village; Chamkaur Singh (20) of Fatehpur Rajputa village; and Vansh Sharma (23) of Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran, besides a juvenile.
The police recovered five 9 mm Glock pistols and two .30 bore sophisticated pistols from their possession.
Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the arrests were made following specific intelligence inputs. Police teams first apprehended Gurpreet, alias Gopi, along with the juvenile and recovered two Glock pistols.
Further interrogation led to the arrest of their accomplices — Manish, alias Jerry; Saroop, alias Roop; and Chamkaur Singh — and the recovery of three more Glock pistols. Subsequently, Vansh Sharma was arrested based on the disclosure of Chamkaur Singh, with two .30 bore pistols seized from him.
The Police Commissioner said Manish, alias Jerry, was wanted in a case involving firing at police personnel in Batala last year and had been absconding. Saroop, alias Roop, also has a criminal background, with cases registered against him under the NDPS Act and for theft.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Arms Act at the Cantonment police station in Amritsar. Further investigations are underway to establish backward and forward linkages of the network.
