— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE PROCURING ILLEGAL WEAPONS FOR FURTHER SUPPLY IN REGION: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— MORE ARRESTS AND RECOVERIES ARE LIKELY IN COMING DAYS, SAYS CP ASR HARMANBIR GILL
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, August 13:
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 dismantled two major cross-border drug and illegal arms supply networks with the arrest of five individuals and recovered seven illegal pistols and 2.030 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
Those arrested have been identified as Pargat Singh alias Pagga (30) and Janbar Singh (20), both residents of village Dall in Tarn Taran; Balwinder Singh alias Billa (30), a resident of village Doake in Amritsar Rural; Amandeep Singh alias Aman (37), a resident of Sarwarpura in Amritsar; and Balwinder Singh alias Kala (42), a resident of Kot Atma Ram in Amritsar. The recovered pistols include four .30 bore (Made in China) and three 9MM (Made in Austria). Apart from this, police teams have also impounded their two motorcycles being used for criminal activities.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused in the Arms Act case were allegedly in contact with foreign-based smugglers and procuring illegal weapons for further supply in Amritsar and Tarn Taran area.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish the complete forward and backward linkages and to verify the alleged links with foreign-based smugglers and uncover the wider supply network.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Harmanbir Singh Gill said that in the first case, acting on reliable intelligence, police arrested accused Pargat alias Pagga, Janbar Singh and Balwinder alias Billa and recovered five illegal pistols from their possession. Based on the disclosures made by accused Pargat alias Pagga and Balwinder alias Billa, police recovered two pistols from the location pinpointed by them, he said.
In another operation, the CP said that acting on specific intelligence, police intercepted accused Amandeep alias Aman and Balwinder alias Kala. During the search, 2.03 kg heroin was recovered from their possession.
He said that more arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days as the investigation progresses.
In this regard, two separate cases— FIR No. 250 dated 11.08.2026 under section 25(8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Islamabad and FIR No. 179 dated 10.08.2026 under sections 21-C and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Sultanwind in Amritsar— have been registered.
