The Crime Branch on Sunday claimed to have seized 40 semi-automatic pistols manufactured in illegal units in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Two men, Deepak Kumar Saha and Sajid, were arrested after the cache of arms, meant to be supplied in Delhi-NCR, were recovered from them.
Kingpin held
Saha is the alleged kingpin of the racket, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madhur Verma. “He has been running the racket for over a decade now. He has admitted to having supplied more than 400 sophisticated illegal weapons to hundreds of criminals in Delhi and other States,” said Mr. Verma.
Investigation into a series of incidents in Delhi-NCR led the police to trace the source of the guns that were being used by criminals. According to the police, a team of inter-State police officers was put together to zero in on the source. The team ultimately identified Saha, a native of Bihar.
“We started tracking him and found that he had a history of supplying firearms to criminals in Delhi-NCR. We laid a trap based on a tip-off about him coming to deliver another consignment.
Saha and Sajid were caught with 40 guns from Anand Vihar railway station, where they had come in a train coming from Bihar,” said Mr. Verma.
The arms were reportedly to be supplied to a Delhi-based gangster.
The police added that guns work almost like sophisticated weapons and are immensely popular among criminals, given the high manufacturing standards. Also, they are cheaper than their legal counterparts.
Payment under scanner
The cost of one such gun could be anywhere between ₹50,000 and ₹70,000, said a police officer.
The police are also probing the channels used to make payments as the entire amount had to be paid in advance. They are also looking into whether the alleged criminals used instant messaging applications to avoid detection and exchange pictures of the weapons.
This is the third such seizure this month after 30 sophisticated pistols and carbines were recovered on April 22 and 20 guns were found on April 21.
