Amritsar Rural Police Bust Smuggling Network: Grenade, Pistols and 3.491 kg Heroin Seized, Seven Heldਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਪੇਂਡੂ ਪੁਲਿਸ ਨੇ ਤਸਕਰੀ ਜਾਲ ਤੋੜਿਆ: ਹੱਥ ਗੋਲਾ, ਪਿਸਤੌਲ ਅਤੇ 3.491 ਕਿਲੋ ਹੈਰੋਇਨ ਬਰਾਮਦ, ਸੱਤ ਕਾਬੂ

Amritsar Rural Police have dismantled a drug trafficking, illegal arms and explosives smuggling network, apprehending seven accused and recovering one hand grenade, two pistols and 3.491 kg of heroin, Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday, October 21.

What was recovered

The recovery, announced by the DGP in a post on X, was made by the Amritsar Rural Police. Along with the heroin, the teams seized one hand grenade and two pistols. First information reports have been registered at two police stations in the district, Chatiwind and Lopoke, and the accused are being questioned.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly in contact with foreign-based smugglers who were supplying illegal weapons for further distribution among criminal elements, the DGP said. He added that further investigation is underway to uncover the complete network and to establish its backward and forward linkages, so that the people who sent the consignments and the people who were to receive them can both be traced.

Second such network in a week

This is the second cross-border smuggling network police say they have broken in the Amritsar area within days. Last week, Counter Intelligence Amritsar busted a cross-border arms and explosives smuggling module with the arrest of five people, including a father-son duo, Gurpreet Singh and his son Jaskaran Singh of Ballarwal village in Ajnala.

In that operation, police recovered a .30 bore assault rifle, two hand grenades and 13 foreign-made sophisticated pistols, four 9MM Glocks and nine .30 bore pistols, along with 25 cartridges, and impounded two motorcycles used to move the consignments. Police said the father-son duo had been retrieving drone-dropped consignments of arms, ammunition and explosives from across the border on the instructions of a foreign-based smuggler, and were apprehended near Teri village in Ajnala as they were to meet their associates Veenu of Sagarpur in Batala, Amritpal Singh of Rasulpur and Gaurav Masih of Gounspura.

Why it matters

Amritsar district sits on the international border, and police and the Border Security Force have repeatedly reported drones being used to drop heroin, pistols and explosives on the Punjab side. Wednesday's recovery, a grenade alongside heroin and pistols, is the pattern officials say they are trying to break: the same networks move drugs and weapons together, and the weapons are then passed on to criminal gangs inside the state.

The DGP said the Punjab Police remained committed to cracking down on drug trafficking, illegal arms and explosives smuggling, and organised criminal networks to ensure the safety and security of the state. The names of the seven accused in Wednesday's operation had not been released in the reports we read, and we will update this story when police name them.

How many people were arrested in the Amritsar Rural operation?

Seven accused were apprehended by the Amritsar Rural Police, according to DGP Gaurav Yadav.

What did police recover?

One hand grenade, two pistols and 3.491 kg of heroin, the DGP said.

Where have cases been registered?

FIRs have been registered at Chatiwind and Lopoke police stations in Amritsar district, and further investigation is underway.

Is this linked to last week's Amritsar bust?

Police have not said the two operations are linked. Last week Counter Intelligence Amritsar separately arrested five people, including a father-son duo, and recovered 13 pistols, an assault rifle and two hand grenades.