Patiala, July 14: The Patiala police have dismantled an active interstate arms smuggling network by arresting four suspects who allegedly delivered illegal weapons directly to buyers while masquerading as courier staff. The operation led to the recovery of 15 illegal .32 bore pistols and 30 live cartridges, disrupting a major pipeline intended for local gang networks.
The suspects, all in their early twenties, utilized uniforms from major e-commerce platforms to bypass security checkpoints. By placing the contraband inside standard delivery cartons, they managed to transport the weapons across state lines under the guise of regular commercial shipments.
“Their questioning is vital to ascertain how many times earlier and to whom they supplied weapons,” SSP Varun Sharma declared. He maintained that the group operated by purchasing cheap firearms in Madhya Pradesh and selling them at high markups to local criminals.
The arrests were executed near the national highway at Basantpura in Rajpura during a coordinated operation by the Patiala CIA and local police teams. The arrested individuals have been identified as Vishal, Jinder alias Sagar, Badal, and Subhash, all of whom are college dropouts who reportedly entered the trade for quick financial gains.
Authorities asserted that the suspects were working under the direct instructions of jailed gangster Sonu Khatri to facilitate a major criminal conspiracy in Punjab. The seized arsenal was reportedly designated for members of Khatri’s network, which is linked to several cases of kidnapping, robbery, and murder.
