In a major bust, Mohali police arrested four members of an alleged cross-border drugs and illegal weapons network with six firearms, including a banned Turkish-made Zigana pistol, 100g of heroin and ₹ 1-lakh drug money.
The accused were allegedly travelling in a Creta to supply drugs and illegal weapons across Mohali when a CIA team intercepted them and recovered the contraband. Domestically assembled copies, meanwhile, are sourced from Madhya Pradesh and circulated at lower costs. They have been sent to four-day police custody.
Besides the Zigana pistol, police also recovered two .32-bore pistols and two .315-bore pistols. The Zigana, a semi-automatic firearm known for its concealability and magazine capacity of 15 to 17 rounds, is banned in India. A case has been registered under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and relevant provisions of the Arms Act at Kharar City police station.
Genuine Turkish-made pistols are allegedly smuggled into Punjab through drone drops from Pakistan or cargo routes via Nepal, according to police. Senior superintendent of police Varun Sharma said the accused were foot soldiers for Pakistan-based handlers, with whom they communicated through banned social media applications using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Police said the four had no previous criminal record and were allegedly being used by organised gangs to distribute drugs and weapons in the tricity area.
Police had set up a checkpoint in Kharar on Saturday following a tip-off, according to information.
