Delhi Police arrests interstate arms smuggler, recover 10 illegal firearms

An interstate arms smuggler was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell, and 10 illegal firearms were recovered from his possession, an officer said on Thursday.

The accused, Prem Singh Rathod, 33, was allegedly working as a carrier for an arms syndicate operating from Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh. He was supplying firearms to criminal gangs and prospective buyers in Delhi-NCR and other states, he said.

Rathod was arrested on August 8 near Shankar Vihar Bus Stand on National Highway-48 while he was on his way to deliver a consignment of weapons, he said, adding that firearms were recovered during his search.

The recovered weapons include a 9-mm Zigana pistol, four 7.65-mm semi-automatic pistols and five (dot)315-bore single-shot pistols, police said.

A team developed intelligence about the syndicate and laid a trap after receiving specific information about the movement of the consignment, said the police officer.

An FIR was registered at the Special Cell police station, and further investigation is underway.

During interrogation, Rathod disclosed that he had been working as an arms carrier for the syndicate for about a year.

The syndicate, according to police, procured illegal firearms from local gunsmiths in Burhanpur and nearby areas and used carriers to transport them to gangsters and buyers in Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

Police said Rathod worked as a small-scale farmer before joining the syndicate. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest the alleged kingpin and other members of the network.