Jalandhar: 10 members of extortion gang held, 7 pistols seized
According to senior superintendent of police Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh, the arrested gang members were working at the behest of foreign handlers and were involved in multiple shooting incidents and extortion attempts.
The Jalandhar rural police dismantled two gangs, including one being operated by UK-based handlers, arresting 10 hard-core criminals in two separate operations.
With the arrests, the police claimed to have busted an extortion racket targeting local businessmen and cracked 14 gun-point robberies in different parts of Jalandhar and Kapurthala.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said the arrested gang members were working at the behest of foreign handlers and were involved in multiple shooting incidents and extortion attempts.
“The first breakthrough came when a police team intercepted three suspects near the Giddarpindi toll plaza near Lohian Khas. The team apprehended Amandeep Singh, Jagwinder Singh and Jaskaran Singh, while they were travelling in a Toyota Corolla Altis (PB-65-H-9100). The search led to the recovery of two .32 bore pistols, six live rounds, and five magazines,” SSP Khakh said.
He added that during interrogation, the accused revealed that their operations were being orchestrated by UK-based kingpin Jagdeep Singh alias Jagga, with financial support from Greece-based Paramjit Singh alias Pamma and logistical coordination by Manila-based Manjinder Singh alias Mani. The gang had recently smuggled pistols from Khargone in Madhya Pradesh.
Khakh said in a follow-up operation on November 13, the police team arrested three more gang members identified as Ajay Kumar, Vishal and one juvenile and recovered one more .32 bore pistol with three live rounds.
In a parallel operation, CIA staff of Jalandhar Rural apprehended four members of a gang led by Harvinder Singh, Dalwinder Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Harpreet Singh, all residents of Jalandhar district.
The team confiscated two .32-bore pistols with six live rounds and three magazines and a .315-bore pistol with two live rounds.
Khakh said during interrogation, this gang confessed to multiple crimes including extortion calls and robbing people of cash at gun-point.
“They also revealed connections to a local drug trafficking network,” he said. “The operation has effectively dismantled a major international crime syndicate and prevented numerous potential serious crimes in the region. The accused will be produced in court where we will seek police remand to investigate their network further and recover more weapons,” said SSP Khakh.