Punjab sees 5-fold rise in arms smuggling from Pak

A five-fold surge has been witnessed in smuggling of arms from Pakistan through the Punjab border, with 362 weapons, including AK-47 rifles, grenades and improvised explosive devices, seized so far this year compared to just 81 last year.

A security expert attributed the sharp rise to the precision strikes carried out by India during Operation Sindoor on terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The expert said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) appeared to have launched a retaliatory campaign by stepping up arms smuggling in an attempt to destabilise Punjab. Nearly one-third of the seizures have occurred after Operation Sindoor.

Over 50 persons had been arrested, some caught collecting weapons dropped via drones while others were the intended recipients tasked with carrying out terror strikes, said an official.

For the first time in three years, three AK-47 rifles were seized, highlighting how sophisticated weaponry was infiltrating the state. The last such seizure was in October 2022 when six AK-47s were recovered.

Speaking to The Tribune, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav emphasised the severity of the situation. “We have managed to pre-empt the smuggling of sophisticated weapons and thwarted several terrorism plans hatched from across the border,” he said.

The DGP said the seizures had been possible due to coordinated efforts by the Punjab Police, its counter-intelligence unit, including the Special Services Operation Cell, Border Security Force and central agencies.

Investigations revealed that gangsters and terrorists operating from the US, Canada and other countries were not only arming the operatives of terror outfits like the Babbar Khalsa International, but also fuelling organised crime.

“The ISI is leveraging a nexus of gangsters, drug smugglers and terrorists to sow chaos in Punjab, with recovered arms linked to violent crimes such as extortion, targeted killings and inter-gang rivalries,” said an official.

This strategy, the official said, was part of a broader ISI agenda to vitiate law and order and create conditions conducive to the secessionist ideology of Khalistan. “The proliferation of violent crimes is also raising fears that these armed gangs could serve as foot soldiers for future terror attacks,” he said.

The official said the scale of smuggling this year exceeded the combined total from 2021 to 2024.

The recovered weapons include sophisticated models like 9mm Glocks, PX5 pistols, .30 bore, .32 bore and .315 caliber firearms, often accompanied by magazines and live cartridges. Since 2022, Glocks and PX5 variants, sourced directly from Pakistan, have dominated hauls, designed for high-impact terrorist and criminal operations.

Smuggling methods have also evolved significantly. While traditional ground couriers, border facilitators and riverine routes were once the norm, recent years have seen a shift towards drone-based deliveries, a trend that began in 2019 with the first documented drone smuggling case. Riverine routes remain a preferred method during the monsoon season, exploiting increased water flow and reduced visibility along the border. These technological and seasonal adaptations had made interdiction more challenging, requiring constant vigilance from security forces, said a security official.

Officials said smuggling networks were heavily concentrated in Punjab’s border districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Batala, which accounted for a majority of the small arms recoveries since 2022. These areas, often tied to ISI-directed modules, served as critical entry points for the illicit arms trade, the officials said.