Amritsar Rural Police and a Central Agency smashed an alleged cross-border trafficking syndicate in a joint sweep across Punjab, arresting seven suspects and impounding a military-grade rocket-propelled grenade launcher alongside a massive narcotics haul.
Police intercepted the syndicate before the weapons could change hands. Officers recovered nearly 8 kilograms of heroin, over 2 kilograms of methamphetamine—commonly known as ICE—and 5.152 kilograms of opium during coordinated raids. The teams also seized two illegal pistols, 106 rounds of live ammunition, an aerial drone, a GPS tracking unit, and five mobile phones used to coordinate drops along the border corridor.
Smugglers had paired lethal hardware with commercial navigation tools. And the hardware went far beyond standard handguns. Investigators found an operational RPG launcher equipped for heavy armor strikes—a stark escalation from typical border contraband. The inclusion of an aerial drone and a GPS receiver signaled high-precision logistics designed to retrieve mid-air drops under cover of night.
The seizure startled counter-terror teams. An RPG in civilian territory shifts the tactical baseline entirely. Punjab Police confirmed that officers are dissecting the physical assembly of the launcher and tracing the source of related explosive material to determine which facility manufactured the weapon and which exact route carried it across the boundary.
Preliminary questioning revealed the seven arrested men maintained active links with foreign-based handlers. Those handlers allegedly orchestrated the influx of military hardware and synthetic narcotics, intending to funnel both into violent criminal networks across the state.
The investigation focuses on dismantling the entire supply chain, establishing backward and forward linkages, and identifying the wider network behind these arms and drug consignments.
Punjab Police Headquarters, Official Statement
Police split the legal proceedings across three separate jurisdictions. Station House Officers registered distinct First Information Reports at the Gharinda, Lopoke, and Bhindi Saida police stations in Amritsar district, booking the seven accused under narcotics and arms control statutes.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Enforcing Agencies | Amritsar Rural Police & Central Agency |
| Suspects Arrested | 7 accused persons in custody |
| Heavy Armament Seized | 1 RPG rocket launcher |
| Small Arms & Ammunition | 2 illegal pistols, 106 live cartridges |
| Narcotics Seized | ~8 kg heroin, >2 kg ICE (meth), 5.152 kg opium |
| Surveillance & Logistics Gear | 1 drone, 1 GPS tracker, 5 mobile phones |
|---|---|
| Police Stations With FIRs | Gharinda, Lopoke, and Bhindi Saida |
Specialized units have launched forensic extractions on the five impounded mobile phones and GPS memory logs to plot prior drop coordinates. Investigators will produce the seven suspects before a local magistrate to secure custodial remand, while parallel intelligence teams move to isolate their domestic contacts and identify the overseas handlers steering the pipeline.