Amritsar Police Bust Cross-Border Arms Network, Seize 12 Pistols and Two Live Grenadesਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਨੇ ਸਰਹੱਦ ਪਾਰ ਹਥਿਆਰ ਨੈੱਟਵਰਕ ਤੋੜਿਆ, 12 ਪਿਸਤੌਲ ਅਤੇ ਦੋ ਜਿੰਦਾ ਗ੍ਰਨੇਡ ਬਰਾਮਦ

Amritsar police have arrested 11 people, including two juveniles, and seized 12 Pakistani-made pistols, two live hand grenades, 33 cartridges, 310.10 grams of heroin and a stolen motorcycle in two operations against an alleged cross-border arms and drug smuggling network. Police Commissioner Harmanbir Singh Gill announced the arrests at a press conference in Amritsar on Tuesday, 3 November. The seizures are allegations made by the police; the accused have not been tried in court.

What did the police seize?

The operations were carried out in the Ranjit Avenue, Sultanwind and Chheharta areas on specific intelligence inputs, Gill said. They were jointly led by DCP (Investigation) Prabhjot Singh, DCP (City) Jaskiran Teja, ADCP Vishaljit Singh and ADCP Jayant, along with the Detective Wing and teams from the concerned police stations. Police said the two hand grenades were new and of high capacity, and investigators suspect the explosives were intended to target sensitive locations or specific individuals. Gill said the police have identified potential targets of the alleged network but are withholding their names for security reasons while the investigation continues.

Gill said this was the seventh major arms seizure by the Amritsar Police Commissionerate in the past two months. Preliminary investigation suggests the weapons were dropped inside Indian territory from Pakistan using drones, he said, and teams are now working to establish the network's backward and forward linkages and identify others involved.

Who are the accused?

Police identified the arrested adults as Boby, Satnam Singh, Harpreet, Akashdeep, another Akashdeep alias Akash, Vishal Singh and Gurpreet Singh alias Billa. The accused are aged between 18 and 24, and six of them have previous criminal cases registered against them, including attempt to murder, robbery and Arms Act violations, while some were also wanted in other cases, Gill said. Police said most of the accused worked as daily-wage labourers or painters and were allegedly lured into the illegal network.

What are the alleged Pakistan and Dubai links?

According to the police, the investigation has revealed alleged links between the network, gangster Happy Jatt, a resident of Jandiala, and a Dubai-based alleged heroin smuggler named Karan. Police allege that Karan arranged weapons and narcotics from Pakistan through drones, while local operatives handled storage and distribution on the directions of Happy Jatt. These are police allegations reported by NDTV and The North News; they have not been tested in court, and the investigation is continuing.

Separately, Gill warned against the illegal storage and sale of firecrackers ahead of Diwali, saying authorised vendors would be allowed to sell firecrackers at designated locations in Amritsar from 5 to 9 November and that police would conduct surprise inspections across the city.

How many people were arrested in the Amritsar operations?

Police arrested 11 people, including two juveniles, in two operations in the Ranjit Avenue, Sultanwind and Chheharta areas of Amritsar, Commissioner Harmanbir Singh Gill said on 3 November.

What did Amritsar police recover?

Police said they recovered 12 Pakistani-made pistols, two live hand grenades, 33 cartridges, 310.10 grams of heroin and a stolen motorcycle.

How were the weapons allegedly brought into India?

Police say preliminary investigation suggests the weapons were dropped inside Indian territory from Pakistan using drones, arranged by a Dubai-based alleged smuggler and distributed locally on a gangster's directions.