Inter-state firearms racket busted

With the arrest of a man, the Delhi Police’s Special Cell claimed to have busted an inter-state gang involved in running an illegal firearm business.

Twenty-seven semi-automatic pistols have been recovered from the possession of accused Salamuddin (23), the police said.

“The gang used to procure sophisticated semi automatic pistols from Sendhwa, Madhya Pradesh, and sell them further to criminal elements in Delhi and NCR,” said a senior police officer.

The arrest came to light following a study by the Delhi Police that most of the sophisticated illegal firearms used in heinous crimes in Delhi and NCR over the past few years were manufactured in Khargone, Barwani and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh and were being smuggled into Delhi NCR.

A team of Special Cell was constituted to wipe out the menace of illegal firearm smuggling into Delhi NCR, Mewat and Mathura region.

The team collected data pertaining to the gangs operating in Delhi and NCR. The team travelled to many areas in west UP, east UP, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

On Friday, information was received that one arm supplier from Uttar Pradesh would come to ISBT Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi at about 8:30 pm to deliver a huge cache of semi automatic weapons manufactured in Sendhwa, district Barwani in Madhya Pradesh to his contact.

“A trap was laid near Ring Road, ISBT Sarai Kale khan area. At about 9 pm, one suspicious person holding two bags, one on his shoulder and another on his hand, came near a CNG station/pump. Within 15 minutes he was overpowered and apprehended,” said a police officer.

Interrogation of the arrested identified as Salamuddin revealed that he has been working for one Mushtaq of Chhata, Mathura, UP. Mustaq is the main receiver of these illegal arms from Sendhwa, Madhya Pradesh, the police said.

 Mushtaq used to supply these illegal weapons to the gangsters of Delhi & NCR and other parts of the country. 9 pistols were to be delivered in Delhi to one Sonu, a resident of Dwarka, Delhi and 18 to someone in UP, the police said.

The police also said that Salamuddin had also been arrested by the Special Cell in the month of December 2014 alongwith his two associates and total 10 semi automatic pistols were recovered from their possession.