Afghan National, Minor Among Seven Held in Major Crackdown on Illegal Arms and Drug Racket

In a major breakthrough, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police, in a joint operation with a central agency, have uncovered a cross-border network involved in the illegal trafficking of arms, narcotics and hawala transactions. Seven accused, including an Afghan national and a minor, have been apprehended during the operation. According to the police, 10 sophisticated weapons, including two sub-machine guns, were recovered from the accused. The operation also led to the seizure of 5.048 kilograms of heroin and hawala money amounting to ₹30.38 lakh. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were allegedly linked to foreign handlers operating through social media platforms. They are suspected of receiving consignments of narcotics and illegal weapons and distributing them to criminal elements. The investigation has further indicated that the network used hawala channels to facilitate financial transactions at multiple locations. An FIR has been registered at Islamabad Police Station in Amritsar. Police officials said further investigation is underway to identify other members associated with the network, recover additional contraband, and make more arrests. Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav shared the details of the operation and reiterated that the Punjab Police remains firmly committed to its zero-tolerance policy against drug trafficking, illegal arms smuggling, hawala operations and organised crime.