The Madanapalle sub-division police on Tuesday morning nabbed a youth at the inter-State border check post here and seized two imported pistols and 29 rounds of ammunition from him. The incident led to a flutter in the district.
Addressing a press conference, Deputy SP A. Ravi Manohar Achari and Circle Inspector (Madanapalle Taluq) M. Srinivasulu said acting on reliable information that a youth with the firearms and ammunition was on the move in the district and that he was trying to cross into Karnataka for Bengaluru, a special party was posted the at the border check post three days back. They nabbed one Tarigonda Babu Farooq (22), a native of Sadum mandal in Chittoor district, while he boarding a bus towards Bengaluru.
The police officials said that Babu Farooq remained active in ganja and firearms smuggling, covering various States in the country. During interrogation, it was found that Farooq used to get calls from the Gulf countries, directing him to collect the firearms and ammunition in Mumbai and deliver the same at various locations across the country. In the first week of November, Farooq obtained the stealthy consignment from an “unknown” person in Mumbai and returned to native place Sadum in Chittoor district. While he was on the way to deliver it to a client, he was nabbed. “We have information that Farooq’s brother is residing in the Gulf, suspected to be operating this clandestine deals,” they said.
As part of the investigation, the Madanapalle police contacted their counterparts in Mumbai, besides forming special parties to track down the suspects in the rocket.
