Punjab Police Busts Foreign-Linked Drug and Arms Module in Hoshiarpur, Four Held

Punjab Police on Monday said it had dismantled a major inter-state and foreign-linked narcotics and illegal arms module with the arrest of four accused and the seizure of 9.925 kg of heroin along with firearms and ammunition in Hoshiarpur district.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav described the operation as a significant breakthrough in the state’s ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking networks. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were in direct contact with foreign-based gangsters and were acting as local handlers facilitating drug trafficking and the supply of illegal weapons in the region.

Police recovered 9.925 kg of heroin, two foreign-made .30-bore pistols, eight magazines, and 40 live cartridges from the accused during the operation. The arrested individuals have been identified as Manjinder Singh alias Sonu , a resident of Pathralian village in Hoshiarpur; Shivam Bhandari from Dhina in Jalandhar; Sahil Masih alias Monu from Pakhoke Tahli village in Gurdaspur; and Ramel Roger from Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur.

Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Malik said the arrests were made following specific intelligence inputs , after which police teams established a special checkpoint (nakabandi) in the Garhshankar area . During the operation, a suspicious i-20 car was intercepted , leading to the arrest of the four accused and the recovery of drugs and weapons from the vehicle.

Police also revealed that Sahil Masih is a habitual offender who had earlier been involved in firing at a police team in Batala district , highlighting the accused’s previous criminal links.

An FIR has been registered at Garhshankar police station under Sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Section 25 of the Arms Act . Investigators are now working to establish forward and backward linkages of the network to dismantle the wider interstate and international smuggling chain.

Police officials said the probe is ongoing and more arrests and recoveries are likely in the coming days as authorities attempt to uncover the full extent of the drug-arms nexus operating in the region.