BATHINDA, Feb. 23 -- Faridkot police have busted a Pakistan-backed international drug cartel with the arrest of six individuals, including an army jawan and a sacked cop, and recovered 4.8 kg heroin and one .30 bore pistol along with three live cartridges from their possession, said director general of police Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Sunday. Police identified the arrested accused as Jarnail Singh alias Goldy of Ludhiana, who is serving in the Indian Army and currently on leave; Amardeep Singh, alias Boxer, (a dismissed PAP cadre cop) and Dimple Rani of Ferozepur, Ramandeep Kaur, Sarabjit Singh alias Sabba, and Amritpal Singh alias Abhijot, all residents of Moga. Apart from recovering the contraband, the police teams also seized Rs.30,000 drug money and impounded two vehicles, including Thar and XUV-500, which they were using for drug trafficking, said the DGP in a release. Yadav said the breakthrough is the result of a meticulously planned, intelligence-led operation and a two-month-long jail-based interception that exposed the deep-rooted linkages of the cartel. However, the police authorities declined to share details of the key mastermind handling the cross-border narcotic smuggling from an undisclosed jail. "Preliminary investigation has suggested that the accused were in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers who were using drones to push heroin consignments into Indian territory," said the DGP. Police said that it was found that the drug consignments were smuggled into India through a drone. Sharing more details, Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pragya Jain said that on the intervening night of February 20-21, a team of the crime investigating agency) intercepted a Thar vehicle near Green Avenue in Faridkot town area. She said that a case under the NDPS was registered at the city police station. Jain told reporters that the police would soon take the jailed accused on remand for interrogation. "Operation is still underway and we cannot disclose any further information of the individual who was managing the smuggling on the phone from jail," said the SSP. "A search conducted under the supervision of DSP (Faridkot) Tarlochan Singh led to the recovery of 1-kg heroin and drug money, leading to the immediate arrest of four occupants. During subsequent interrogation, it was revealed that the consignment was supplied by the accused Boxer in an XUV-500 vehicle," she said. Investigators said that acting on this lead, police teams intercepted Boxer and his associate Dimple near village Goleana Semnala, recovering an additional 3.796 kg of heroin and a .30 bore pistol from their possession. The SSP said the kingpin, Boxer, is a habitual offender with 9 previous criminal cases, while other members also have significant criminal records under the NDPS and Arms Acts. "Boxer and the accused jawan were found misusing their official identification cards for easy passage through nakas and toll plazas," she said. A local court on Saturday sent the six accused on a two-day police remand....