In a major breakthrough 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 busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of six accused persons, including one juvenile, and recovered seven sophisticated pistols from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
Those arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi (27) of village Burj in Amritsar, Manish Kumar alias Jerry (24) of Sunder Nagar in Batala, Saroop Singh alias Roop (27) of village Chuchakwal in Amritsar, Chamkaur Singh (20) of village Fatehpur Rajputa in Amritsar and Vansh Sharma (23) of Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran. The recovered lethal weapons include five 9MM Glock pistols and two .30 bore pistols.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were in contact with a foreign-based handler operating from Portugal, facilitating the smuggling of illegal arms from Pakistan via drones. The accused used to retrieve these consignments and further supply them to criminal elements, he said.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case to dismantle the entire network.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on secret information, police teams conducted a planned operation which led to the arrest Gurpreet alias Gopi and one Juvenile and two 9MM Glock pistols were recovered from their possession.
During further interrogation, more disclosures led to the arrest of their accomplices Manish alias Jerry, Saroop alias Roop and Chamkaur Singh and three more 9MM Glock pistols were recovered from their possession, he said, while adding that subsequently, on the disclosure of accused Chamkaur Singh, Vansh Sharma was also arrested along with two .30 bore pistols.
The CP said that accused Manish alias Jerry was earlier involved in a firing incident on police officials at Batala last year and was absconding in that case. Similarly, accused Saroop alias Roop also has a history of criminal involvement, with multiple cases pertaining to the NDPS Act and in theft cases registered against him, he added.
In this regard, a case FIR No 42 dated 11-03-2026 has been registered under sections 25(6), 25(7)(i) and 25(8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar.
