Punjab Police bust smuggling module linked to Canada, Pakistan

Chandigarh, Oct 14 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Amritsar Rural Police have busted an illegal weapon smuggling module linked to Canada and Pakistan, Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Tuesday.

Amarbir Singh, a resident of Dairiwal in the police station of Tarsikka in Amritsar, was arrested, and six pistols, 11 magazines and 91 cartridges of .30 bore and 20 cartridges of 9mm were recovered from his possession.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused recently returned from Canada and was in contact with Pakistan-based smugglers, said the DGP.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered, and further investigations are underway to identify the other operatives, trace forward and backward linkages, and dismantle the entire cross-border smuggling network.

In an intelligence-based operation a day earlier, the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) Amritsar, in a joint operation with Border Security Force (BSF), recovered a consignment of three weapons, comprising two AK-47 rifles, close to the Indo-Pak border falling under Khemkaran in Tarn Taran.

The recovered weapon consignment also included one PX5 Storm pistol, along with a magazine and two magazines of AK-47 along with ammunition.

DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation revealed that the weapons were sourced from Pakistan.

Further investigations are ongoing to identify the smugglers, trace linkages in this case to dismantle the entire smuggling network, he said.

Sharing operational details, Assistant Inspector General Sukhminder Singh Mann said the BSF had received an input about the arrival of a consignment of militant hardware from across the border.

Acting swiftly, the police, along with the BSF, launched a well-coordinated combing operation in Mehdipur village, and a weapon consignment was recovered from the area.

The origin of the recovered hardware is being ascertained, he said, adding that further investigations are being conducted to trace and apprehend the accused involved in this crime.

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