Three suspected smugglers were arrested and a cache of crude pistols was seized from a house in Northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri area during neighbourhood patrolling ahead of Independence Day, police said today.
Three persons, who allegedly trade in crude guns, were arrested. They were identified as Pradeep, Akeel and Haseemuddin, said a senior police officer.
While Pradeep was arrested in possession of the illegal pistols, his associates -- Akeel and Haseemuddin -- were arrested from western Uttar Pradesh. Pradeep is a proclaimed "bad character" with as many as 14 criminal cases registered against him, said the senior officer.
The trio allegedly used to procure crude guns for anything between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 from Bulandshahr in UP and sell them to criminals in Delhi-NCR at cost running up to Rs 35,000. They reportedly manage to sell as many as five guns a day when their business is at peak, the officer said.
The police stumbled upon the concerned stock of crude guns during stringent checks and intensified neighbourhood patrolling ahead of Independence Day.
During interrogation, the accused told the police that they had been in the business for around four years. They disclosed the name of their main supplier who is yet to be tracked by police in Delhi and UP, said the official.
"Once the main supplier is nabbed, there are chances that the police may come across more buyers on his list and bust a suspected gun racket operating in the national capital," said the senior officer.
A case under relevant sections of the Arms Act has been registered at Nanad Nagri police station and further investigation is underway, the officer added.
