The recovery of over 120 pistols, two AK-47 assault rifles, an M16 rifle and five hand grenades in the border belt over the past 33 days has exposed the growing scale of illegal arms trafficking in the region.This also leaves one wondering if the city has become a major corridor of arms and drug smuggling.The seizures made in a series of operations by the Punjab Police and sister agencies, including the Border Security Force, point towards organised networks based in Pakistan, along with their accomplices here, allegedly using drones and local couriers to push sophisticated weapons into the border state.The recovery of military-grade weapons, particularly AK-47s, M16 rifles and hand grenades, has raised concerns over the availability of sophisticated firearms to criminal networks operating in border districts.Related news: Attari’s young sarpanch battles drug networks despite threatsPunjab has also witnessed a spurt in targeted attacks on police personnel and establishments in the past over one year.In high possibility, the weapons trafficked from the neighbouring country have been used in these instances, gang rivalries and other organised crimes.In one of the recent operations, the Amritsar Commissionerate Police arrested four persons, including two juveniles, and seized 16 pistols and seven cartridges.In another case, the Amritsar rural police arrested seven persons, including serving Army personnel, and recovered 14 pistols and 20.130 kg of heroin.On Jattvibeday, the Amritsar rural police arrested four persons and confiscated five pistols in separate incidents.The Gharinda police arrested Amritpal Singh of Naushehra Pannuan (Tarn Taran), Harpartap Singh of Chavinda village, while the Rajasansi police nabbed Jagdev Singh of Ballia village and Akashdeep Singh of Rane Kale village with three pistols, apart from a total of 273 gm of heroin.In a separate incident, the Gharinda police seized 550 gm of heroin, a pistol and a broken drone at Rorawala Kalan border village. Apart from this, the BSF also recovered a pistol from near Rania border outpost. The latest seizures underline that the challenge in the Amritsar border belt extends beyond narcotics trafficking. The movement of sophisticated firearms and explosives through suspected cross-border networks has been another security concerns in the region.