In a major crackdown by Amritsar police, the officials busted a cross border arms smuggling network operating in Punjab. Amritsar Commissionerate Police confiscated arms, live cartridges and arrested 2 accused involved in the illegal smuggling. The network was involved with people across border through social media platforms.
Campaign against illegal drugs and arm smuggling
In the press conference held related to this case, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar informed that the operation was a part of an ongoing campaign against such illegal arm and drug smuggling. He appreciated the efforts of the CIA inspector and the entire team for the success of the operation. It was told that the operation included major contribution of the intelligence team
Identities of the accused
The police revealed the identities of accused arrested. They are identified as Surjeet Rana and Gulbag Singh, both residents of Sarahna village near Sursingh in Tarn Taran district. Talking about Surjeet Rana it was informed that he is a 33-year old uneducated man. Surjeet worked as a welder in the district. While, Gulbag is a 26-year old 12th pass. The major information in the case is that Gulbag runs a deaddiction centre in Tarn Taran.
Arms seized
The seized arms include 7 sophisticated pistols. One 9mm Glock pistol, one Turkish-made .30 bore pistol, one specially modified .30 bore pistol, one Chinese-made .30 bore pistol, one Pakistan-made .30 bore pistol and two other sophisticated firearms, along with 40 live .30 bore cartridges.
Past crime records
The accused Surjeet Singh has past records under NDPS Act. This was filed in August 2025. He was declared wanted under the case of seizure of 5000 narcotic tablets.
Contact with the people abroad
The criminals came in contact with the people sitting abroad through social media apps. These apps include Signal and Zangi. Many criminals also use apps like Whatsapp to conduct such crimes and receive instructions to conduct these activities.
Police also found out that the cross-border smuggling was operated in Tarn Tran itself. The arms were dropped through drones and were later transported to various places. Police are now investigating how many consignments of arms or narcotics had previously been smuggled through the network and identifying the intended recipients of the recovered weapons. Investigators are also examining whether any other de-addiction centres or individuals were involved in facilitating the illegal operation.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other associates involved in the illegal arms supply chain.