GUJRAT/OKARA: Gujranwala police on Monday claimed to have unearthed an interprovincial network allegedly involved in online sale of unregistered kites and arrested eight suspects, seizing 20,000 kites, chemical string and related material, being smuggled from Peshawar to Lahore for the upcoming Basant festival.

According to the police, the action was taken on a tip-off by Satellite Town police circle.

A spokesman for Gujranwala police says that the police got a tip-off about the transportation of unregistered kites, metal strings and other material in a passenger bus.

The police stopped a Lahore-bound bus coming from Peshawar and during checking recovered 20,000 unregistered kites, 1,800 rolls of chemical string and other material.

The spokesman says that the suspects would take online orders for kites and string through social media platforms and deliver the consignments to different areas of Punjab.

The Gujranwala police, he said, registered separate cases against the eight arrested suspects.

Meanwhile, Gujrat police also claimed to have arrested five suspects allegedly involved in the sale of kites and strings and also recovered Basant-related material from them.

Sub Inspector Waqas Ahmed of Gujrat police says that four suspects have been arrested by the Civil Lines police led by Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Furqan Shahzad Cheema, whereas one of the suspects was arrested by Sara-i-Alamgir police.

He added that the district police have stepped up the efforts to trace and arrest the suspects involved in the illegal trade, which had been banned by the Punjab government.

OKARA: Two kite sellers were arrested by Okara Saddar police in as many raids.

The police claimed to have arrested a suspect, Shahid Nadeem, and recovered 175 kites, 20 string rolls and sale cash from him.

In another raid, Hujra Shah Muqeem police arrested a kite seller, Ali, and recovered 25 kites.

Separate cases were registered against the suspects under The Prohibition of Kite Flying Ordinance.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026