Bhubaneswar: In a significant breakthrough, the Special Crime Unit (SCU) of the Commissionerate Police has apprehended two notorious arms smugglers, recovering a cache of 10 pistols, a carbine, and ammunition.
Acting on specific intelligence, the SCU team, led by DCP Anup Kanungo, intercepted a Bolero vehicle at Khandagiri Overbridge on December 5. The vehicle, travelling from Angul to Berhampur, was found carrying the illicit arms, concealed in a bag.
The accused, Sumanta Naik (30) and Soubhagya Naik (30), are residents of Angul and Dhenkanal, respectively. Preliminary investigation reveals that they procured the arms from Jharkhand and Munger, Bihar.
The police have seized 9MM and 7.65MM pistols, an automatic carbine, 12 rounds of 9MM ammunition, Rs 1,600 in cash, and three mobile phones. Both accused have multiple cases against them, including arms act violations, robbery, and dacoity.
Police Commissioner S Devdutta Singh said that one is a resident of Angul and the other is from Dhenkanal. “Both are important members of the arms supply chain. Sumant Nayak is facing six cases, while another accused is facing four cases. These cases include the Arms Act, robbery, and dacoity. We hope their supply chain will be disrupted with this fresh arrest. We are now investigating to find out their sources of genesis of these arms,” he said.
The Commissionerate Police are investigating further to identify the intended recipients and uncover the interstate network involved in the illicit arms trade.
