The Nashik rural police on Friday arrested three men for allegedly smuggling a huge cache of arms in their SUV. The police said the accused were travelling towards Mumbai and were caught after a petrol pump attendant tipped-off the cops.
According to police sources, the men stopped at a petrol pump in Malegaon on Mumbai-Agra highway a little after midnight for a fuel refill. The attendant filled petrol in the tank, but when he asked for payment, one of the occupants threatened him with a gun. The SUV sped away towards Mumbai.
“The attendant called the police control room, and we sent out a wireless alert for patrolling units along the highway to be on the lookout for an SUV of the description provided. We also mobilised additional units and set up check points along the highway,” Superintendent of Police Sanjay Darade, Nashik Rural police, said.
Around two hours later, the police intercepted the car at a check point at Chandwad. When the driver gave evasive answers about their journey, the three occupants of the car were taken aside for questioning. “A search of the car revealed 17 revolvers, two pistols, one pump action shotgun, eight 12-bore double barrel rifles, two 12-bore single barrel rifles, ten .22 bore rifles and 4,142 live rounds of different calibres,” Mr. Darade said.
The trio was arrested and the arsenal seized, after which they were produced in a local court and remanded in police custody for 13 days.
While the police refused to reveal the names of the accused, sources said two of them hail from Sewri in Mumbai, while the third has several cases, including those for robbery and possession of illegal arms, registered against him.
“It is suspected that the arms were procured from Uttar Pradesh and were going to be sold to multiple parties in Maharashtra. The men seem to be part of an organised syndicate that takes orders from those who want to buy guns on the black market and procures the guns in bulk from one of the many gangs that operate in U.P.,” said an officer with the Nashik rural police.
