Amritsar, October 15, 2026 — The Counter Intelligence wing of Amritsar Police has dismantled a cross-border arms and explosives smuggling module, arresting five persons, including a father-son duo, and recovering a significant cache of weapons. The seizures include one .30-bore assault rifle, two hand grenades, 13 foreign-made pistols (four 9mm Glocks and nine .30-bore pistols), and 25 live cartridges. Two motorcycles used to transport the consignments were also impounded.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Gurpreet Singh and his son Jaskaran Singh, both residents of Ballarwal village in Ajnala, Amritsar district; Veenu of Sagarpur in Batala; Amritpal Singh of Rasulpur village in Batala; and Gaurav Masih of Gounspura village in Batala.
According to Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, the Counter Intelligence unit received specific intelligence that Gurpreet Singh and Jaskaran Singh were in regular contact with a foreign-based smuggler. Acting on the handler’s instructions, the duo collected consignments of weapons, ammunition and explosives dropped by drones across the international border. The recovered material was then supplied and distributed through the other three operatives.
The tip-off further indicated that Gurpreet and Jaskaran were scheduled to meet Veenu, Amritpal Singh and Gaurav Masih near Teri village in Ajnala to hand over the arms and explosives. Acting swiftly on the input, police teams raided the location and apprehended all five accused on the spot along with the consignment. Preliminary investigation indicates that the foreign-based smuggler used encrypted communication platforms to coordinate movements and evade detection.
An FIR (No. 66, dated October 15, 2026) has been registered at the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) police station in Amritsar under Sections 25 and 25(1-A) of the Arms Act, Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
DGP Yadav stated that further investigation is underway to trace the wider smuggling network, establish its backward and forward linkages, and identify all persons involved. The operation forms part of Punjab Police’s ongoing efforts to counter cross-border arms and explosives trafficking that relies on drone drops from across the border.
This bust comes amid continued vigilance by security agencies against drone-enabled smuggling of weapons and explosives into Punjab. Officials have emphasised that the recovered arsenal has been taken out of circulation before it could reach criminal or anti-national elements.
