Punjab: Three Pak handlers held for smuggling drugs, weapons; two drones recovered

Punjab Police have arrested three Pakist handlers and recovered two drones used for allegedly smuggling drugs and weapons into the country from across the border.

Among the arrested persons are two drug smugglers and a serving army soldier.

"We have arrested three people who were launching drones from India across the border to fetch drug payloads. We suspect weapons were also smuggled into the country through this means. We have recovered two drones," Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta said in a press conference on Friday.

While one of the drones was recovered from Amritsar rural in Punjab, another was seized from Haryana's Karnal on Thursday.

According to police, the arrested persons have been identified as Naik, who is in the armed forces, Dharminder Singh against whom there are several drugs cases, and Balkar Singh, who has served jail time in a drug case.

Gupta said that the arrested persons revealed that they were involved in cross-border drugs and weapons smuggling through drones over the past few months.

"Two wireless communication sets, 12 drone batteries, Rs 6.22 lakh cash and a car were also recovered from their possession, which is suspected to have been used in the act," Gupta said.

He said that the police identified smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border through drones in August last year.

Punjab Police had also busted a terrorist module of the revived Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), which was backed by a Pakistan and Germany based terror group that was conspiring to unleash a series of terror strikes in Punjab and its adjoining states.

( With inputs from ANI )