Amritsar, 27 October (H.S.): Amritsar Rural Police has busted four separate illegal arms and narcotics supply networks with the arrest of seven individuals, including an Army man, and recovered 14 sophisticated pistols and 20.130 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Uday (19) and Patras (19), both residents of Mastgarh in Tarn Taran; Army soldier identified as Yudhvir Singh (22), a resident of village Ranike; Sajan Singh (19) and Sahilpreet (20), both residents of Naraingarh; Jarmanjot Singh (20), a resident of Village Sialka; and Sahibnoor Singh (21), a resident of Jujhar Singh Nagar, Batala.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly in contact with a foreign-based handler, who was facilitating illegal arms consignments for further distribution among criminal elements through an organised network. Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete network and establish backward and forward linkages, he said.

Sharing operational details, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that in the first operation, acting on specific inputs, teams from Police Station Gharinda intercepted Uday and Patras, when they were going towards Khemkaran after retrieving drone-dropped consignment of 10 pistols including one 9MM and nine .30 bore pistols. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the duo had previously retrieved and supplied at least 20-25 consignments of weapons, he said.

The IGP said that in the second operation, a joint team of CIA Amritsar Rural and SHO Gharinda apprehended an Army soldier identified as Yudhvir Singh, who had come home on leave, and recovered one .30 bore pistol from his possession.

Earlier, Accused Yudhvir Singh was also arrested in the Arms Act case, he said, while adding that a detailed report regarding his involvement in cross-border smuggling is being sent to senior Army authorities.

Giving details of the third operation, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said that acting on reliable inputs, Police Station Gharinda teams intercepted Sajan Singh and Sahilpreet, and recovered a massive haul of 20.130 kg of heroin from their possession.

In the fourth operation, the SSP said that a joint team led by Incharge Special Cell Amritsar Rural and SHO Kathu Nangal apprehended Jarmanjot Singh and Sahibnoor Singh, and recovered two pistols from their possession. In this regard, four separate cases have been registered.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH