Punjab Police Busts Cross-Border Drug, Arms Smuggling Racket, 1 Arrested

A cross-border drug and arms smuggling racket being operated by Pakistan-based smugglers has been busted in Amritsar with the arrest of a key person after recovering 2 kg Ice Drug (methamphetamine), police said on Thursday.

The arrested smuggler has been identified as Simranjit Singh alias Simar Maan, a resident of Village Gaggarmal in Amritsar.

Apart from seizing a consignment of Ice drugs, police teams have also recovered a highly sophisticated .30-bore Chinese pistol along with five live cartridges from his possession, Punjab Police said in a statement.

The statement quoting Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested accused was directly in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers Pathan and Amer, who were supplying him with Ice drugs and weapons from across the border using a drone.

The arrested person further used to supply the Ice drugs across the state, DGP said, adding that investigations are ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages.

Sharing more details, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said following reliable inputs about the attempt to influx of large quantity of Ice drug and weapon consignment by Pak-based smugglers in the state, police teams carried out an extensive operation at in Chheharta area in Amritsar.

He said that police teams had managed to arrest the accused Simar Maan, when he was waiting for someone to deliver this consignment.

Bhullar, according to the statement, said that further investigations are being conducted to unearth the whole network of drug suppliers, dealers and their buyers. Efforts are being made to ascertain the total amount of narcotics procured by the arrested accused so far, he added.

A case has been registered under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Arms Act at Chheharta Police Station in Amritsar Commissionerate.