LUCKNOW, Aug. 2 -- With the arrest of an alleged member and the recovery of 21 country-made .315 bore pistols along with equipment used to manufacture weapons, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has claimed to have busted an illegal firearms manufacturing and supply syndicate operating across western Uttar Pradesh.

According to officials, the accused was identified as Mohd Tajammul, a resident of Khair Nagar in the Dehli Gate police station area of Meerut. The arrest was made during a joint operation with the local police late on Saturday night near the road leading from the BSNL office towards Mall Road in the Lalkurti police station area.

STF officials said that acting on intelligence inputs, police teams had been tracking gan...