AMRITSAR, India, June 25 – Indian police have dismantled a cross-border syndicate operating in the northern state of Punjab, arresting seven individuals including an Afghan national and a juvenile, officials said on Thursday.
Authorities recovered 10 sophisticated firearms—including an Italian-made UZI submachine gun—5.048 kg of heroin, and ₹30.38 lakh in illegal hawala money during a joint operation conducted by the Amritsar Commissionerate Police and a central agency.
“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign-based handlers operating through social media platforms,” Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said. He added that the network used hawala channels for financial transactions across various locations.
The syndicate allegedly received consignments of narcotics and illegal arms to further distribute them to criminal elements.
The arrested adults have been identified as Jaspreet Singh (21), Jagjit Singh (40), Gopal Sharma (21), Aniket Sahota (21), Prabhjeet Singh (26), and Rajbir Singh (22). Jagjit Singh is a native of Jalalabad in Afghanistan currently residing in Tilak Nagar, New Delhi, while the remaining suspects are residents of Amritsar. A juvenile was also detained.
Amritsar Commissioner of Police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar stated that the operation began with the arrest of Jaspreet Singh and the juvenile, yielding 220 grams of heroin. Subsequent disclosures led to the arrest of Gopal Sharma and Aniket Sahota, along with the recovery of 4.8 kg of heroin.
Further investigation led police to Jagjit Singh, who was allegedly handling the hawala money generated through the network. His interrogation led to the arrest of Prabhjeet Singh and Rajbir Singh. A search based on Prabhjeet Singh’s disclosure resulted in the recovery of the 10 sophisticated weapons and ₹30.38 lakh.
The seized weapons cache includes one 9MM UZI Sub Machine Gun, one 9MM Ghaffar Sub Machine Security Gun, four 9MM Glock Pistols, one 9MM Zigana Sport Pistol, one Cold King Commando Semi Automatic Pistol, one Scorpion Zigana Tisas Turkiye Pistol, and one .30 bore Pistol. A motorcycle was also impounded.
“More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days,” CP Bhullar said, adding that Jagjit Singh has previous criminal involvement.
A case has been registered under sections 21-B, 21-C, 27-A, and 29 of the NDPS Act, and sections 25(6, 7, 8) of the Arms Act at the Islamabad Police Station in Amritsar.
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