Amritsar , 30 September (H.S.): Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled three drug trafficking and illegal arms supply networks with the arrest of five individuals and recovered 13 pistols and 3.267 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Krish Gold (20) of Lohgarh in Amritsar, Kunal Mehta alias Kannu (21) of Katra Dullo in Amritsar, Robin (21) of Hindustan Basti in Amritsar, Jaskaran Singh alias Jass (36) of Bhootanpura in Amritsar and Jobanpreet Singh alias Joban (22) of Village Naushehra Dhalla in Tarn Taran. Accused Jaskaran alias Jass is a habitual offender with five prior criminal cases registered against him under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, etc.

The recovered pistols include eight .30 bore PX-3, three .30 bore, one 9MM Glock, and one 9MM pistol along with 22 live cartridges. Apart from recovering weapons and narcotics, police teams have also impounded their car, which they were using for smuggling activities.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused are involved in the supply of illegal weapons and narcotics in the region. Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other persons involved, including foreign-based handlers, he said.

Sharing details of first operation, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Harmanbir Singh Gill said that police teams arrested Krish Gold and Kunal Mehta alias Kannu and seized two .30 bore pistols from their possession, while three more pistols along with 14 live cartridges and 1.227 kg heroin were recovered on Kunal alias Kannu’s disclosure. Subsequent interrogation led to the arrest of their accomplice Robin from Civil Lines, he said.

In another operation, the CP said that police teams intercepted a car and apprehended Jaskaran Singh alias Jass after recovering 2.040 kg of heroin from the vehicle.

In the third operation, he said that acting on a reliable input police teams nabbed Jobanpreet Singh alias Joban and recovered eight PX-3 pistols along with eight live cartridges from his possession. In this regard, three separate cases have been registered.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH