Amritsar police bust cross-border arms & hawala network, 3 held 

The city police have busted a cross-border arms and hawala racket, arresting three men and recovering 10 pistols along with Rs 2.5 lakh hawala money.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the operation was part of the state government’s drive to ensure a safe Punjab. The accused have been identified as Amarjeet Singh, alias Bau (22), of Majhi Meo in Amritsar, Manbir Singh (26) of Van Tara Singh in Tarn Taran, and Mohammad Tofiq Khan, alias Babblu (42), of Gautam Nagar in Mumbai.

The haul includes three .30 bore PX5 pistols, three 9mm Glocks, one 9mm Beretta, and three .30 bore pistols. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the accused were in touch with Pakistan-based handlers through social media to procure weapons and disturb peace in the state. “Further investigations are on to trace the entire network,” he added.

Bhullar said police teams had arrested Amarjeet and recovered one Glock pistol from his possession. Later, on disclosure of Amarjeet, Manbir was nominated and arrested along with nine pistols, he said. He claimed that both Amarjeet and Manbir had a common Pakistan-based handler, who pushed weapon consignments into Indian territory using drones.

The Police Commissioner said that further investigation had revealed that the money from this smuggling trade was routed through hawala to Pakistan by a Mumbai-based individual, Mohammad Tofiq Khan, who was using rented premises in different cities of Punjab for network operations. The latter was arrested along with Rs 2.5 lakh hawala money, he added. A case under the Arms Act has been registered at the Gate Hakima police station.