16 arrested with 34 kg heroin, hand grenades and weapons in Amritsar

Amritsar rural police have taken 16 persons into custody following a crackdown against drug and arms smuggling gangs. According to police, these operations have also helped crack three recent shooting incidents in the area.

During the entire operation, police recovered 34 kilograms of heroin, two Uzi submachine guns, five pistols, two hand grenades and 26 live cartridges.

According to police, investigation has revealed that the arrested individuals were in touch with kingpins based in foreign countries. Weapons were arranged from abroad and supplied to local criminal elements. Cases in this regard have been registered at police stations Gharinda, Beas, Mehta, Lopoke and Chheharta.

During operations conducted by police at various locations in this case, a total of 34 kilograms of heroin was recovered. One of these operations was carried out near Saidpur village under Lopoke police station jurisdiction, where a trap was laid based on information from the Border Security Force (BSF). Police arrested Sukhmanpreet Singh, a resident of Lodhi Gujjar, and recovered 13 kg of heroin and a pistol. According to officials, this consignment was dropped from across the border via drone.

The second operation was conducted by the Gharinda police station team near the government horticulture nursery on GT Road. From there, 10 kg of heroin was recovered from Gurcharan Singh and Bikramjit Singh, residents of Panjwar village.

Another raid took place near Atari bypass, from where 500 grams of heroin was seized from Rahul Singh. Police have registered cases under the NDPS Act and investigation is underway to trace cross-border links. Nothing has yet been proved in court.

Key developments

• Amritsar rural police arrest 16 accused, seize 34 kg heroin and arms
• Two Uzi guns, five pistols and two hand grenades also recovered from smugglers
• Police claim to solve three old shooting incidents
• Heroin consignments recovered from near Lopoke, Gharinda and Atari bypass