Amritsar: The Amritsar commissionerate police on Monday claimed to have busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling and hawala network with the arrest of four persons, including an Afghan national, and seized eight sophisticated pistols from their possession.Those arrested include Esmailkhel Tawhid (30), a resident of Afghanistan, presently residing in Pune, Maharashtra; Mangjit Singh (20) and Shamsher Singh (26), both residents of village Fatehabad in Tarn Taran; and Gurlal Singh (42), a resident of village Rajatal, Amritsar.The police seized one .30 bore Beretta, four 9MM Glock and three .30 bore pistols along with seven live cartridges. An Activa scooter was also impounded.Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, commissioner of police, Amritsar, said the preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in contact with a foreign-based smuggler who supplied illegal weapon consignments through concealed drop locations.The recovered arms were reportedly being delivered to criminal elements for further distribution, he added.Bhullar said acting on reliable inputs, police teams apprehended Mangjit Singh and Shamsher Singh and seized three illegal pistols along with seven live cartridges from their possession.Following a comprehensive investigation into the foreign-based smuggling network, the police arrested another accused, Gurlal Singh, and during his search, three additional pistols were seized, he said.Gurlal's interrogation led to the recovery of two more pistols from a location pinpointed by him, said Bhullar.He further said that, based on the disclosures made during the investigation, the police also arrested another associate, Esmailkhel Tawhid, who was operating a hawala network under the guise of a dry fruit business and facilitating financial transactions connected to the illegal arms smuggling racket.Two separate cases under Sections 25 and 25(7) of the Arms Act and under Sections 25, 25(8) and 29 of the Arms Act have been registered at police station Islamabad and police station Gate Hakima, respectively.