Chandigarh, March 8 (IANS) In an intelligence-led operation, the Punjab Police have busted an arms supply module with the arrest of two people, including one juvenile, and recovered five country-made 7.65 mm pistols from their possession, State Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday here.
The accused have been identified as Ajay Kumar, a resident of Mehrajwala village in Jalandhar, and a 17-year-old youth.
DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were acting on the directions of foreign-based handlers residing in Philippines and the UAE.
The DGP added that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused had procured illegal weapons from Madhya Pradesh and were supplying them to criminal gangs.
The recovered weapons were intended to be used for firing and extortion activities in the region, he said.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police (Kapurthala), Gaurav Toora, said that acting on reliable inputs police teams had arrested Ajay Kumar and recovered one pistol from his possession.
Further investigation has led to the arrest of his 17-year-old accomplice and recovery of four more pistols from his possession, he added.
The SSP said the probe has revealed that the accused had bought weapons from an unidentified person in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of Rs 87,000.
Further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case to completely expose the network, he added.
Earlier on Saturday, wanted gangster Amritpal Singh, alias Amrit Dalam, has been detained by the Punjab Police at the Moldova border.
He was detained on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of Punjab Police in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Interpol and other central agencies.
The police have established Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC), led by Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence) Ashish Choudhary, to reach out to the criminals sitting abroad and expedite their extradition process to bring them back to Punjab to face legal action.