AFGHAN NATIONAL AMONG SIX LINKED TO CROSS-BORDER ARMS, DRUGS AND HAWALA NETWORK HELD; 1KG HEROIN, 5 PISTOLS, ₹5L DRUG MONEY RECOVERED
— NETWORK WAS ACTIVELY OPERATING IN THE MAJHA AND DOABA REGIONS: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— ARRESTED ACCUSED BAZ MOHAMMAD, ANKUSH BARTHWAL AND DES RAJ ARE HABITUAL OFFENDERS: CP ASR GURPREET BHULLAR
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, June 5 (WISHAVWARTA);- In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a cross-border illegal arms, drug and hawala network with the arrest of six individuals including one Afghan National and two juveniles, and recovered 1.035 kg heroin, five sophisticated pistols, and ₹5 lakh drug money from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.
Those arrested have been identified as Baz Mohammad (62), a resident of Afghanistan and was residing at Sonipat in Haryana, and recently shifted to Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi; Ankush Barthwal (33), a resident of Guru Angad Dev Colony in Nawanshahr; Des Raj alias Vicky (32), a resident of village Bhattian in Jalandhar; Rajandeep Singh alias Raja (26), a native of village Raniyan in Lopoke and presently residing at Sunny Enclave in Amritsar; and two juveniles. Arrested accused Baz Mohammad, Ankush Barthwal and Des Raj alias Vicky are habitual offenders with previous criminal involvement.
The recovered pistols include three 9MM Glock (Made in Austria), one .30 bore Zigana and one .30 bore pistol along with two live cartridges.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused, in connivance with their foreign-based associates, were allegedly procuring consignments of illegal arms and narcotics through contacts established via different social media platforms and were distributing them on the directions of their overseas handlers. The network was actively operating in the Majha and Doaba regions, he said.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other associates involved in the network, and ascertain further recoveries.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that initially, police teams apprehended two juveniles and recovered one Glock pistol along with two live cartridges from their possession, while one more pistol along with 500 grams heroin was recovered later on their disclosures.
Continuing the investigation, police teams arrested accused Baz Mohammad, Ankush Barthwal and Des Raj alias Vicky and recovered three pistols, 535 grams heroin and Rs 5 lakhs drug money from their possession, he said, while adding that further interrogation of the arrested accused led to the arrest of their other associate, Rajandeep Singh alias Raja.
The CP said that probe has further revealed that accused Ankush Barthwal had recently returned to India from Uganda, where he was employed. During his stay abroad, a co-worker introduced him to accused Baz Mohammad, and after returning to India, Ankush allegedly joined hands with Baz Mohammad and started engaging in the illegal supply of narcotics and weapons, he said.
In this regard, a case FIR No. 91 dated 24-05-2026 under sections 25 (6,7,8) of the Arms Act and sections 21-C and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar.
