Faridkot Police have busted a cross-border heroin smuggling network and arrested four operatives, seizing 47.3 kg of heroin.
Three pistols, three magazines, 15 cartridges and two vehicles were also recovered.
A CIA Faridkot team intercepted a Honda City on the night between Saturday and Sunday during a special checkpoint.
Police said the gang received heroin and weapons dropped by drones from across the border in Fazilka and Ferozepur areas.
An FIR has been registered at Sadiq police station, and the investigation is continuing.
The Faridkot Police arrested four operatives of a cross-border smuggling network and seized 47.3 kg of heroin.
They also recovered three pistols, three magazines, 15 cartridges and two vehicles.
A team from the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in Faridkot intercepted a Honda City car on the night between Saturday and Sunday during a special checkpoint.
The checkpoint was set up ahead of the forthcoming Baba Farid Agman Purab.
The four occupants of the car were apprehended, and the heroin and weapons were found during the search.
All four accused are residents of villages in Ferozepur district.
According to police, the gang received consignments of heroin and weapons dropped by drones from across the border in the border areas of Fazilka and Ferozepur.
The gang then supplied the consignments further within Punjab, police said.
An FIR has been registered at Sadiq police station in Faridkot.
Investigators are working to establish the forward and backward linkages of the network.
Punjab, which shares a long border with Pakistan, has seen repeated drone-dropped drug and weapon consignments in border districts.
Police recoveries of this kind are typically followed by questioning of the accused to trace the suppliers across the border and the buyers within the state.
The accused are yet to be tried, and the allegations against them remain to be proved in court.
Raj Mahal palace, Faridkot (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain
