Chandigarh, May 3 (AHN) Amritsar Commissionerate Police have dismantled a cross-border arms smuggling module by arresting four accused and recovering seven sophisticated pistols from their possession, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.

Those arrested have been identified as Samarbir Singh, alias Simar (21), a resident of Mahindra Colony in Amritsar; Satnam Singh, alias Satta (23), a native of Fatehpur village in Tarn Taran; Tanupreet Singh (26), a resident of Pratap Nagar in Amritsar; and Karanjot Singh, alias Sajan (26), a resident of Krishna Nagar in Amritsar.

The recovered weapons include two 9MM Glock pistols made in Austria, four .30 bore pistols made in China and one .30 bore pistol.

DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were in contact with Pakistan-based smugglers through social media platforms. The consignments of illegal arms were delivered from across the border through drones and were further distributed among criminal elements through their associates, he said.

The DGP said further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages of this network to identify other associates involved.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (Amritsar) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that in a well-planned operation based on a tip-off, accused Samarbir was arrested with two Glock pistols. On further interrogation and follow-up action, three of his associates -- Satnam, Tanupreet Singh and Karanjot -- were arrested, he said, adding that based on their disclosures, five more pistols were recovered.

Bhullar said the accused, Satnam, is already involved in a previous case involving the recovery of a commercial quantity of heroin, wherein eight kg of heroin was recovered from his possession.

Satnam Satta and Karanjot reside in the same neighbourhood and were working together on the directions of a Pakistan-based handler, he added.

He said the probe has also revealed that all the accused are well educated and had earlier worked as salesmen in a private firm. They reside in nearby localities and were known to each other, the CP added.