India, Aug. 5 -- Eight suspects linked with an interstate arms smuggling syndicate, including the alleged kingpin, have been arrested and 18 illegal firearms, additional magazines and live cartridges have been seized following an extensive operation by Delhi Police's Special Cell, an official said on Tuesday. The accused were allegedly part of a network that procured sophisticated semi-automatic pistols and country-made firearms from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and supplied them to criminals in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas, police said. "The syndicate used encrypted social media applications, virtual numbers and fake online identities to coordinate with suppliers, traffickers and buyers while concealing identities of its members," a senior police officer said. Also Read - Factory wall collapse kills two firefighters The arrestees have been identified as Harish Chandra (24), Pritpal Singh (24), Shishpal Singh alias Yash Chaudhary (26), Kuldeep Sagar (20), Agesh Kumar (25), Noor Mohammed alias Taslim (36), Mohammed Shan (19) and Vikram Singh (36). Police said the operation was carried out on the basis of specific intelligence developed over several weeks regarding movement of illegal firearms into Delhi-NCR. "During the operation, the team recovered 12 semi-automatic pistols, five country-made pistols, one revolver, 10 additional magazines, five live 9 mm prohibited cartridges, besides one live cartridge and an iron sickle from one of the accused," the officer said. Also Read - GZB: Kanwariya killed in NH-9 road accident, another dies after snakebite He further said the investigation began on July 5 when Harish Chandra was apprehended with eight semi-automatic pistols and eight magazines allegedly smuggled from Madhya Pradesh. During interrogation, he disclosed that he and his brother were transporting illegal firearms at the direction of the syndicate's alleged kingpin Shishpal Singh, police said. Based on his disclosure, police arrested Pritpal Singh and later tracked down Shishpal from Ballabhgarh in Haryana, recovering another illegal pistol from his rented accommodation. According to police, Shishpal had been involved in illegal arms trade for nearly three years and had established a network of suppliers, couriers and traffickers operating across multiple states. Police arrested several accused and recovered pistols and ammunition, alleging the syndicate sourced firearms from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for distribution across Delhi-NCR.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.