Amritsar (Punjab) [India], December 7 (ANI): In a significant development, the Counter Intelligence unit in Amritsar has busted a cross-border arms smuggling module with alleged links to Pakistan and arrested one operative, police said.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said that a total of five pistols, including four .30 bore weapons and one 9mm pistol with magazines, have been recovered during the operation.

'Counter Intelligence Amritsar busts a cross-border arms smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrests one operative. A total of five pistols (four .30 bore & one 9mm with magazines) recovered,' DGP Yadav posted on X.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the accused, along with a wanted associate identified as Saifli Singh, had been retrieving weapon consignments on the instructions of a Pakistan-based handler, police said. The weapons were allegedly being supplied to criminals and gangsters operating across Punjab.

Police said an FIR has been registered at Police Station SSOC Amritsar.

Further investigation is underway to identify forward and backward linkages and dismantle the entire network, DGP said.

The Punjab Police stated that it remains committed to dismantling cross-border arms trafficking networks and ensuring public safety.

Earlier, BSF troops neutralised three Pakistani drones and recovered two packets of heroin in multiple swift and precisely executed operations along the Punjab border, the BSF Punjab Frontier said in a press release on Saturday.

'Following a drone intrusion on Friday evening, the BSF troops immediately activated technical countermeasures and subsequently recovered one DJI Mavic 4 Pro drone along with one packet of heroin with a gross weight of 543 grams from agricultural fields near Dal village in Tarn Taran,' BSF Punjab Frontier said in the release. (ANI)