Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police’s Special Crime Unit has arrested a man and seized two semi-automatic firearms, eight rounds of live ammunition and an SUV during a crackdown on suspected illegal arms smuggling on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, police said on Friday.
The accused has been identified as Biswajit Behera, alias Kalia, a resident of Noda village under Gobindpur police station limits in Kataka district.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs regarding the suspected smuggling of firearms to the Balipatna area, a team of the Special Crime Unit intercepted the vehicle and apprehended the accused.
Police also seized two mobile phones and Rs 510 in cash from his possession. The accused will be produced before a court on Friday, police said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused was allegedly involved in five other cases, all registered under the Arms Act, said Anup Kumar Kanungo, DCP of the Special Crime Unit.
“Based on specific inputs, we suspect that the accused procured the firearms from Munger district in Bihar. The accused has claimed that he works as a sand supplier and kept the firearms for his personal safety,” Kanungo told reporters.
However, police have not yet established whether the accused was directly involved in an arms deal, as further investigation is underway.
The accused has also claimed to be involved in sand supply activities in the Balipatna area, the DCP said, adding that police were investigating the source of the firearms and the possible involvement of others in the suspected smuggling network.
