Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar has busted an illegal weapon smuggling module having links extending to the United States with the arrest of its one operative from Ludhiana, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Gurwinder Singh alias Guri, a native of Pakhowal, Ludhiana and presently residing at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Ludhiana.
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 Hyundai Verna car (PB91N0209), in which the accused was travelling.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused Gurwinder Guri 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 transnational weapon smuggling ring using local associates in Punjab, he said.
As per the information, arrested accused Gurwinder Singh is brother-in-law of USA-based Hardeep Singh, who was earlier arrested by STF Ludhiana in drug smuggling case of Sarpanch Gurdeep Singh Rano in 2020.
Thereafter, Hardeep Singh fled away from India to USA in year 2022.
Sharing operation details, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that 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 accused Gurwinder Singh near Sham Nagar Phatak Ludhiana, when he was going to deliver the consignment in his Verna car.
The DGP said that 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, he said, while adding that more arrests are recoveries are likely in this case.
A case FIR No. 21 dated 21.04.2025 has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station SSOC, Amritsar.