Amritsar, June 28 -- The Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a cross-border illegal arms smuggling network with the arrest of four individuals and the recovery of 10 sophisticated pistols along with nine cartridges, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Saturday. The arrested accused have been identified as Ravi Singh, 33, and Sharanbir Singh, alias Sunny, 31, both residents of Mahawa village in Amritsar, alongside Manpreet Singh, alias Mannu, 21, of Nihala Kilcha village, and Pippal Singh, 22, of Fatehwala Hithar village, both located in Ferozepur. The seized cache includes three China-made .30 bore pistols, one Austrian-made 9mm Glock pistol, one standard 9mm pistol, and five other .30 bore pistols. Police teams also impounded two motorcycles used by the smugglers. DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations reveal the accused were acting on the directives of a foreign-based smuggler, receiving illegal weapon consignments through cross-border routes to supply local criminal elements. Further investigations are underway to map out the backward and forward linkages of the network and identify other associates in the supply chain. Sharing operational details, Amritsar commissioner of police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on intelligence inputs, police teams initially arrested Ravi Singh and Sharanbir Singh, recovering three pistols from them. During interrogation, the duo disclosed the location of two more pistols, which were subsequently recovered. Pursuing leads regarding the foreign-based handler, police arrested Manpreet Singh and Pippal Singh, seizing three pistols from them. Subsequent interrogation of the Ferozepur duo led to the recovery of another two pistols. Bhullar said all four accused reside in villages close to the international border, which facilitated their proximity-based access to cross-border smuggling channels. A verification of their criminal antecedents revealed that Sharanbir Singh and Ravi Singh were already facing charges of attempt to murder and violations of the Arms Act. Two cases have been registered in connection with the latest recoveries: FIR No. 140, dated June 21, under Sections 25 and 25(6, 7, 8) of the Arms Act at the Chheharta police station, and FIR No. 198, dated June 22, under Section 25(8) of the Arms Act at the Maqboolpura police station in Amritsar....