Chandigarh, Oct 22 (IANS): Punjab Police have busted an interstate arms smuggling gang with the arrest of three of its members from Fatehgarh Churrian in Batala district, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Sunday.

Those arrested have been identified as Anmol Singh, Karandeep Masih, and Jagroop Singh.

Police have recovered 11 pistols, including six .32 bore pistols and five .30 bore pistols, along with magazines and 15 cartridges and Rs 2 lakh cash.

DGP Yadav said acting on tip-off about illegal weapons being smuggled from Madhya Pradesh, police from the Amritsar Counter Intelligence wing launched a special operation and apprehended them when they were travelling on their motorcycle.

"During questioning, the accused have disclosed that they were receiving money through hawala from their US-based accomplices to buy arms and ammunition from Madhya Pradesh,” he said, adding police teams are trying to unearth the network by identifying the procurement and supply chain.

The US-based accomplices have been identified as Kirandeep Singh Randhawa and Jarmanjit Singh. Preliminary investigations revealed the gang was hatching a conspiracy to target their rival gang members.