Amritsar, 10 November (H.S.): Amritsar Police, in a joint operation with Central Agency, has busted multiple illegal arms and drug trafficking networks with the arrest of seven individuals, including three juveniles, and recovered one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG)— 22 NETTO Anti-Tank Missile Launcher, two 9MM Glock pistols, 106 live cartridges, 7.9 kg heroin and 5.1 kg opium, 2.3 kg ICE (methamphetamine) from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Gurkirpal Singh alias Gurpal (20), a resident of village Cheecha; Lovepreet Singh alias Navpreet Singh alias Nav (25) of village Dhariwal in Lopoke; Balkar Singh (41) of Kotli Dusandhi; Sukhjit Singh (19), a resident of Ajnala and three juveniles.

Apart from recovering cache of arms, ammunition and narcotics, police teams have also recovered one drone, one GPS tracking device, and five mobile phones from their possession.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly in contact with foreign-based handlers who facilitated the supply of illegal weapons and narcotics for further distribution among criminal elements. Further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other individuals involved in the network, he said.

Sharing operational details, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that in the first operation, a joint team from Amritsar Rural and Central Agencies in a joint operation arrested Gurkirpal Singh alias Gurpal along with his juvenile associate and recovered one 22 NETTO RPG Anti-Tank Missile Launcher from their possession.

In the second operation, he said that teams from Police Station Lopoke along with BSF carried out a joint search operation in the Border Outpost (BOP) Uttar Dhariwal area and arrested Lovepreet Singh alias Navpreet, and recovered two 9mm Glock pistols, two magazines, and ammunition. Arrested accused person’s two associates have been identified and raids are being conducted to nab them, he said.

The IGP said that, in the third operation, teams from Police Station Bhindi Saida along with BSF busted an ICE smuggling module with the arrest of Balkar Singh, Sukhjit Singh, and two juveniles, recovering 2.3 kg ICE drug from their possession. Investigation revealed that Balkar Singh, whose agricultural land touches the international border fence, had arranged the cross-border drone drop and engaged local youths from Ajnala for distribution, he said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal said that, furthermore, in two additional border recovery operations under teams from Police Station Bhindi Saida recovered 7.904 kg of drone-dropped heroin and a tracker device from near village Awan Lakha Singh. During a joint night search with BSF in the BOP Fatehpur area, a packet containing 5.152 kg of opium was also seized, he said. In this regard, five separate cases have been registered.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH