— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE ALLEGEDLY IN CONTACT WITH FOREIGN-BASED HANDLERS: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— FOREIGN-BASED HANDLERS WERE FACILITATING SUPPLY OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION AMONG CRIMINAL ELEMENTS: CP ASR HARMANBIR GILL
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, October 30:
In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted three separate drug trafficking and illegal arms smuggling network with the arrest of eight individuals and recovered 11 pistol and 2.293 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Friday.
Those arrested have been identified as Karandeep Singh alias Babbu (24), a resident of Bhalla Colony in Amritsar; Karan Singh alias Vansh (19) and Karandeep Singh alias Karan (20), both residents of village Naushehra Dhalla, Tarn Taran; Angraj Singh alias Shanki (28) and Rahul alias Shaani (30), both residents of Village Ghanupur Kale in Amritsar; Manpreet Singh alias Karan (22), a resident of village Attari in Amritsar; Kapil alias Papal (31) of Gowal Mandi in Amritsar; and Nikhil Gill alias Saap (27) of Sadar Bazar Cantt in Amritsar. Arrested accused Angraj Singh, Kapil alias Papal, and Nikhil Gill have criminal background with cases under NDPS Act and Arms Act registered against them.
The recovered pistols— include three 9MM Glock, two .30 bore Star, one .30 bore Beretta, one .30 bore PX-5, three .30 bore, and one country-made .32 bore pistol—along with four live cartridges.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly in contact with foreign-based handlers who facilitated the supply of illegal weapons for further distribution among criminal elements. Further investigation is underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case to identify other individuals involved in the network, he said.
Sharing details of first operation, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Harmanbir Singh Gill said that acting on specific information, police teams arrested Karandeep Singh alias Babbu from the jurisdiction of Police Station Chheharta and recovered two pistols from his possession.
In the second operation, he said that, acting on reliable inputs, police teams arrested six accused persons identified as Karan Singh alias Vansh, Angraj Singh alias Shanki, Manpreet Singh alias Karan, Rahul alias Shaani, Kapil alias Papal, and Nikhil Gill alias Saap, and recovered seven pistols from their possession.
In another operation, the CP said that police teams pursuing a separate lead arrested Karandeep Singh alias Karan from the jurisdiction of Police Station Chheharta and recovered two pistols along with 2.293 kg of heroin from his possession. Further investigation is ongoing, he added.
In this regard, three separate cases— FIR No. 251 dated 17.10.2026 under sections 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Chheharta; FIR No. 155 dated 24.10.2026 under sections 25(6), 25(7), and 25(8) of the Arms Act at Police Station A-Division; and FIR No. 268 dated 28.10.2026 under Sections 25(6), 25(7), and 25(8) of the Arms Act and section 21-C of the NDPS Act at Police Station Chheharta— have been registered.
