Punjab arms regulation and smuggling crackdown

Authorities in the Punjab region are implementing measures to combat the circulation of illegal weapons. The Punjab Home Department has mandated that all licensed arms dealers maintain digital inventory records on the Punjab Arms Licence online portal to strengthen oversight. Dealers failing to comply with these digital recording requirements face penalties including business sealing or license suspension.

Recent operations by the Counter Intelligence Amritsar and the Amritsar Commissionerate Police have dismantled multiple illegal arms and narcotics smuggling networks. In one major operation, police arrested two individuals, identified as Gurpreet Singh and another person from Havaliyan village in Tarn Taran, recovering 10 modern pistols (including nine 9mm and one .30 bore), magazines, and ammunition. Investigations indicate these suspects were acting under instructions from handlers based abroad to receive weapon consignments via drones near the India-Pakistan border.

In a separate crackdown, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police busted three large-scale networks, resulting in the arrest of five suspects and the seizure of nine illegal pistols and 6.31 kilograms of heroin. Police officials stated that these networks frequently utilize foreign-based handlers to coordinate the smuggling of contraband across the border. Authorities have registered multiple FIRs under the Arms Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigations remain ongoing to identify further accomplices and map the full extent of these cross-border smuggling modules.