The Kalamassery police on Monday were granted the custody of all the 19 accused, mostly residents of Kashmir, who were arrested in connection with the illegal possession of guns and ammunition while working for a private cash logistics firm that offered security for transporting and filling cash in ATMs.
The police returned the custody of all except two who are being probed.
The police had found that the 19 guns seized were mostly single-barrel ones, except for three which were double-barrel, and were procured illegally on forged licences. One of the guns was found to have been procured from Pathankot in Punjab as per an entry in a seized document, while the origin of the other weapons remains to be identified.
The police will have to take the accused outside the State, including Kashmir, to collect evidence. As of now, no more accused remains to be arrested, though probe will be conducted to ascertain whether similar incidents have taken place elsewhere. Efforts are on to track down those who helped forge arm licences.
The arrest of personnel of the same firm on similar grounds in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this week led to the arrests here. The firm used to offer security service to multiple banks, the police said.
Both the accused and the firm that engaged them were booked under relevant provisions of the Arms Act.
