Punjab Police Bust Cross-Border Arms Network in Amritsar; Three Held with Six Pistols
April 14, 2026
ETT News / Ludhiana
The Amritsar Commissionerate Police busted an international illegal arms smuggling module on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, arresting three operatives and recovering a cache of six sophisticated pistols. The breakthrough came as part of an ongoing statewide drive against organized crime, revealing a sophisticated network that utilized social media and drones to transport weapons from Pakistan into Punjab.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, identified the arrested suspects as Mangal Singh alias Manga, 30, of Tarn Taran; Pranav Sharma alias Laddu, 24, of Chheharta; and Gaurav Rana, 25, of Amritsar. According to the DGP, preliminary investigations indicate the trio maintained direct contact with Pakistan-based arms smugglers through encrypted social media platforms to coordinate the delivery of illegal consignments.
The police operation commenced when a specialized team, acting on secret intelligence, intercepted Mangal Singh and discovered a .30 bore pistol in his possession. During subsequent interrogation, Singh disclosed the location of his accomplices, leading to the arrest of Sharma and Rana. These further raids resulted in the seizure of five additional firearms, including two China-made .30 bore pistols and one Turkish-made Zigana pistol.
Commissioner of Police Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, stated that the smuggling module relied on drones to ferry weapons across the international border into Indian territory. Once the drones dropped the packages at pre-arranged coordinates, the suspects retrieved the firearms and distributed them to local criminal gangs to fuel illegal activities across the state.
Authorities have registered a formal case under the relevant sections of the Arms Act at the Cantonment Police Station in Amritsar. Police officials confirmed that they are now conducting a comprehensive probe to trace the "forward and backward linkages" of the module, aiming to identify the end recipients of the weapons and dismantle the entire cross-border syndicate.
Punjab Police Amritsar Arms Smuggling Cross border Crime Drone Smuggling Pakistan Link Illegal Weapons Pistols Recovered DGP Gaurav Yadav
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