Chandigarh, Nov 10 (PTI) Six people allegedly linked to illegal arms supply networks involving foreign-based handlers and drone-based consignments have been arrested in Amritsar, with police recovering 14 sophisticated pistols, Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
The Amritsar Commissionerate Police dismantled two separate illegal arms supply networks in the operations, he said in a statement.
The arrested accused have been identified as Bobby Singh and Ravinder Singh alias Manna, both residents of Tarn Taran; Gurpreet Singh alias Preet, a native of Village Khohala and currently residing at Max City Jandpeer Colony in Amritsar; Kamal and Ajay Singh alias Kaka from Amritsar; and Swaran Singh from Haryana's Panchkula.
The recovered weapons include a .30 bore TISAS Zigana pistol, a .30 bore Zigana Eagle, a .30 bore pistol made in China, two 9mm pistols, seven .30 bore pistols and two .32 bore pistols.
Investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly in contact with foreign-based handlers through social media platforms, who facilitated the supply of illegal weapons through drone-based consignments.
The accused allegedly collected the consignments and further supplied the weapons to individuals involved in criminal activities, Yadav said.
The DGP said further investigation was underway to identify other associates and establish the complete backward and forward linkages of the networks to dismantle the wider illegal arms supply chains.
Sharing details of the operations, Amritsar Commissioner of Police Harmanbir Singh Gill said police teams, acting on reliable inputs, arrested five accused -- Bobby Singh, Ravinder Singh alias Manna, Gurpreet Singh alias Preet, Kamal and Ajay Singh alias Kaka -- in the first operation and recovered six illegal pistols from their possession.
In the second operation, police acted on specific information and apprehended Swaran Singh, recovering eight illegal pistols from his possession.
