Amritsar: Punjab Police have dismantled an illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of three operatives and the recovery of seven sophisticated pistols, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Resham Singh alias Ghulla (30), a resident of Daleri village in Tarn Taran; Sumit alias Sachin (28), a resident of Gumanpura in Amritsar; and Vishal Kumar (22), of Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran.
The recovered weapons include three 9mm Glock pistols, one 9mm Beretta pistol made in Italy, one 9mm Zigana pistol made in Turkey, one 9mm PX5 Glock pistol made in Turkey and one .30 bore pistol.
In an official release, DGP Yadav said preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers through social media platforms. The handlers allegedly sent consignments of illegal arms into India using drones, which were then collected and delivered by the arrested persons to intended recipients on their instructions.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on specific and credible intelligence, police teams conducted a targeted operation and arrested Resham Singh alias Ghulla, recovering two 9mm Glock pistols from his possession. Three additional pistols were later recovered from a location disclosed by him during interrogation.
The CP said that during further questioning, Resham revealed the involvement of his accomplice Sumit alias Sachin, who was subsequently arrested and found in possession of two pistols. On continued investigation, Vishal Kumar was also arrested later in the evening.
According to police, the accused were operating under a common handler. While Resham allegedly collected arms consignments from areas near the international border, Sumit is said to have delivered them further under the guise of his car sale and purchase business.
A case under Sections 25(1-A), 6, 7 and 8 of the Arms Act has been registered at the Cantonment police station in Amritsar. (Agencies)
