Police on Wednesday busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of five persons and recovered eight pistols from their possession, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.The seized arms and ammunition in Amritsar.Those arrested were identified as Arshdeep Singh (21), a resident of Guru Ki Wadali in Amritsar, Manpreet Singh alias Mann (26), a resident of Bhaini village in Amritsar, Sukhraj Singh alias Billa (29), a resident of Naushera Dhalla village in Tarn Taran, Rahul Gill alias Rahul (22), a native of Bhikhiwind and presently residing at Drajke village in Tarn Taran, and Arshdeep Singh alias Gagarh (25), a resident of Lohke village in Tarn Taran.According to the DGP, the arrested persons have criminal antecedents, with cases under the Arms Act, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and the Prison Act registered against them.The seized weapons include one 9MM Zigana, a .30-bore PX3 (made in China), a .30-bore Beretta (made in Italy), three 9MM Glock and two .32-bore pistols.Two separate FIRs, under Section 25 and Sections 25 (6,7,8) of the Arms Act, have been registered at Chheharta police station in Amritsar, the officials said.Yadav said preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in contact with a foreign-based smuggler through virtual numbers. The module was allegedly receiving consignments of weapons and drugs via drones from across the border, he said.“Further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages and identify other members associated with the network,” the DGP added.Amritsar commissioner of police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that, acting on a tip-off, the police teams arrested Rahul Gill and recovered two pistols from his possession. “During further investigation and based on the disclosure statement made by Rahul, police arrested Arshdeep alias Gagarh and recovered one Glock pistol from him,” he said.The police teams later identified and arrested two more operatives, Arshdeep and Manpreet, while they were travelling on a motorcycle near Miri Piri Academy Road in Chheharta. Two more pistols were recovered from their possession, while another two were seized based on their disclosures.During interrogation, both Arshdeep and Manpreet disclosed that the recovered weapons and ammunition had been purchased from accused Sukhraj alias Billa, Bhullar said. Sukhraj was subsequently arrested, and one .30-bore Beretta pistol was recovered from his possession.