By Police say a smuggling gang busted in Faridkot received heroin and weapons dropped by drones from across the border in the Fazilka and Ferozepur border areas.
Four operatives were arrested with 47.3 kg of heroin.
Three pistols, 15 cartridges and two vehicles were seized.
The gang supplied the consignments further within the state.
Police are tracing the wider network.
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.
The recovery included both narcotics and firearms, which police say shows the gang handled more than one kind of illegal consignment.
Baba Farid Agman Purab is a major annual religious event in Faridkot, and police step up checking in the district ahead of it.
Ferozepur and Fazilka, the districts named in the case, lie on the border with Pakistan.
Crime Investigation Agency units in Punjab districts focus on organised crime and narcotics cases.
The Faridkot Police arrested four operatives of a cross-border smuggling network and seized 47.3 kg of heroin.
Raj Mahal palace, Faridkot (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, public domain
