CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, November 16:
Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a Pakistan-linked arms and narco network with the arrest of five persons and recovered six sophisticated pistols along with 1.01 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.
Those arrested have been identified as Akash Masih and Prince, both residents of village Pandori in Amritsar Rural; Karanbir Singh alias Karan, a resident of village Chaugawan in Amritsar Rural; Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of village Hetampura in Amritsar Rural; and Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja, a resident of village Lahian in Tarn Taran. The recovered pistols include five .30 bore and one 9MM Glock.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were coordinating with Pak-based handlers via social media applications to collect and deliver illegal weapons and narcotics within Punjab. All accused belong to villages located in close proximity to the International Border and were receiving consignments as per the directions of their handlers, he said.
The DGP said that further investigation is ongoing to established backward and forward linkages in this case to identify handlers and dismantle the entire network.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that during a planned Nakabandi near Chheharta, police teams apprehended accused Akash Masih and Prince, and recovered one .30 bore pistol and one Glock 9mm pistol from their possession.
Acting on technical leads in the follow-up of the case, police teams have arrested Karanbir Singh and Sukhwinder Singh, recovering three .30 bore pistols and 1 kg 10 gm heroin from them, he said while adding that, on the disclosure of accused Karanbir Singh alias Karan, police further arrested Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja, from whom one .30 bore pistol was recovered.
The CP said that after retrieving the consignments of illegal weapons, arrested persons were further distributing to criminal elements in the region.
In this regard, two separate cases— FIR No. 223 dated 06.11.2025 under section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Chheharta in Amritsar and FIR No. 239 dated 12.11.2025 under sections 25(1-B) and 25 of the Arms Act and sections 21-C and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar— have been registered.
