Chandigarh, Apr 22 (PTI) The Counter Intelligence (CI) wing of the Punjab Police in Amritsar has busted an illegal weapon-smuggling module with the arrest of an operative from Ludhiana, said state Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday.

The arrested accused has been identified as Gurwinder Singh alias Guri, a native of Pakhowal in Ludhiana and presently residing in the city's Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.

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A case has been registered under provisions of the Arms Act and under the relevant provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station State Special Operation Cell, Amritsar.

Police teams have also recovered five pistols -- including two .45 bore, two .30 bore and one .32 bore from his possession -- besides, impounding a white-coloured car in which the accused was travelling.

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DGP Yadav, according to an official statement, said the preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused was acting under the directions of his USA-based handlers identified as Gurlal Singh and Hardeep Singh, who have formed an alliance abroad and are operating a transnational weapon-smuggling ring using local associates in Punjab, he said.

According to the statement, Gurwinder Singh is the brother-in-law of USA-based Hardeep Singh, who was earlier arrested by Special Task Force (STF), Ludhiana in 2020 in connection with a drug smuggling case. Hardeep Singh fled from India to the USA in 2022, it said.

Sharing the operation details, DGP Yadav said CI, Amritsar received a tip-off, indicating that accused Gurwinder Singh was tasked by his handlers to deliver a consignment in Ludhiana.

Acting swiftly, the police team from CI, Amritsar intercepted and arrested Gurwinder Singh near Sham Nagar Phatak Ludhiana, when he was going to deliver the consignment in his car.

The DGP said the recovered firearms were intended for use in criminal activities across Punjab. Further investigations are on to establish backward and forward linkages in this case to dismantle the entire network. More arrests and recoveries are likely in this case, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)