Expanding its investigation into the daylight murder of a pharmacy cashier in Sector 11 last month, Chandigarh Police has dismantled a cross-border and inter-state network involved in the supply of illegal arms, methamphetamine and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), arresting four more accused, including the alleged main conspirator lodged in Kapurthala Jail.The latest arrests come nearly a month after 45-year-old pharmacy cashier Janki Das was shot dead at Shri Kumar Medical Hall in Sector 11 on June 13. Investigators had earlier arrested the shooters and uncovered the involvement of Canada-based gang handlers. The latest breakthrough, police said, exposes the larger criminal infrastructure that allegedly facilitated the murder by arranging weapons, logistics, finances and safe houses while simultaneously operating a narco-terror and counterfeit currency network with cross-border links.During intelligence-led raids in Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts of Punjab, the city police teams arrested Akash Kumar alias Mani, Sachin Silvester and Gurmeet Singh alias Badshah, while Dharminder Singh alias Goli alias Balwinder Singh alias HSZ, the alleged kingpin currently lodged in Kapurthala Jail, was formally arrested on a production warrant.Police recovered 3.028 kg of ICE (methamphetamine), fake Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 8 lakh, and two sophisticated pistols with magazines during the operation.According to the investigation, Dharminder Singh, who is facing 32 criminal cases involving murder, extortion, Arms Act and NDPS offences, allegedly directed the conspiracy from jail. Police said Gurmeet Singh arranged accommodation and logistics for the two shooters who had arrived from Jammu, supplied them with illegal firearms and got the weapons test-fired before the Sector 11 murder. Akash Kumar allegedly procured and supplied illegal firearms, methamphetamine and counterfeit currency while remaining in contact with a foreign-based operative. Sachin Silvester allegedly assisted in collecting, transporting and delivering weapons, narcotics and fake currency to members of the syndicate.The investigation has revealed a multi-layered network in which Pakistan-based handlers allegedly used low-flying drones to drop consignments of arms and narcotics across the Punjab border. The consignments were allegedly collected by local operatives acting under the directions of jail-based gang leaders and foreign handlers.Police said the network relied on end-to-end encrypted messaging applications to coordinate the movement of weapons, drugs and counterfeit currency while evading law enforcement agencies. Investigators have also found that the syndicate imported shooters from Jammu and Kashmir, arranged their accommodation, supplied them with smuggled weapons, conducted test firing and carried out reconnaissance before executing targeted crimes.The latest seizures also establish, according to investigators, that the same network was engaged in trafficking methamphetamine and fake indian currency notes, indicating an organised cross-border criminal syndicate operating across multiple states.The June 13 murder had drawn widespread attention after Janki Das was shot multiple times inside the chemist shop in a busy Sector 11 market adjoining PGIMER. Within days, Chandigarh Police had arrested the shooters and intercepted another armed module before it could strike, linking both modules to foreign-based gang handlers.Police said further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network, trace the financial trail, establish the source of the recovered weapons, narcotics and counterfeit currency, and recover additional contraband. More arrests are expected.“Chandigarh Police follows a zero-tolerance policy against crime, criminals, gangs, gangsterism, terrorism and the drug menace. We will continue to pursue every link in such organised criminal networks, irrespective of whether the handlers operate from across the border, from foreign countries or from inside prisons. Our focus remains on dismantling these syndicates by targeting their operatives, logistics, finances and support systems to ensure the safety and security of Chandigarh residents,” says Dr Sagar Preet Hooda, Chandigarh DGP.