Police seized a consignment of 10,000 detonators, including electronic detonators, and arrested ten people, including three from Manipur, at the parcel counter of the Gnanapuram railway station here today, the police said.
The ten-member gang had allegedly arranged to transport explosive materials by train without proper security or permission, the police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), K Muralidhar told reporters that three people identified as Thanga Chami, St Momo Darwar Lamkong and R K Vijay of Moreh in Manipur planned to prospect gold illegally in the hilly areas of Pahai stream in Tamu district of Burma for which the explosives were meant to be used.
One among the accused named K Chandra Kumar, who returned from Moreh area near Burma in 1996, has been running a jewellery shop at the Old Gajuwaka area in the city, the police said.
The trio allegedly approached Chandra Kumar and requested him to arrange for detonators after selling him gold for Rs 2.10 lakh and accordingly, Chandra mediated with S Raja Rao and V Pydi Raju to arrange 10,000 detonators for Rs 4 lakh, the police said.
As planned, both Setty Raja Rao and Pydi Raju purchased the explosives from Bondu Appa Rao of Venkateswara Explosives at Chodavaram area of Visakhapatnam district with the help of D Ramanababu and Bongarollu Jagadishbabu, while Bukku Sankara Rao assisted in transporting it through the railway parcel service of the Kanyakumari-Dibrugarh Express, by concealing it within mixer grinder boxes, the police said.
The police team nabbed the gang and recovered the explosives after receiving a tip-off, the police said.
