Cuttack, Mar 11: Jagatpur police in Odisha’s Cuttack today busted an inter-state arms smuggling racket and arrested three persons in this connection.
The cops have also seized four country-made guns and 12 live bullets from their possession.
As per reports, the cops had arrested notorious criminal Prakash Behera alias Babua last evening during a raid and seized a 9 mm pistol and three live bullets from his possession.
Thereafter, he was questioned and during course of investigation it was learnt that Babua was involved in an arms and ammunition smuggling racket with its roots tracing to Bihar’s Munger district.
Acting on the revelation, the cops then apprehended another criminal Pyari Mohan Das alias Pintu from Jagatsinghpur district and his accomplice Mihir Kumar Ray.
While Pintu was found with two firearms and seven live bullets, one firearm and two live bullets were also recovered from Mihir’s possession.
During questioning, Pintu admitted to acquiring the weapons from Munger district and revealed his previous connections with individuals there to obtain arms. Additionally, it came to light that the syndicate had plans to carry out armed robberies targeting cash transport vehicles for ATMs in Cuttack and nearby areas.
Meanwhile, two more members of the syndicate have been identified, and efforts are underway to apprehend them. A specialized team from UPD Cuttack is scheduled to travel to Munger for further investigation, and the suspects will be remanded to aid ongoing interrogation.
Notably, Babua has a criminal record with 10 cases against him, while Pintu has 19 criminal cases registered against him across various police stations.
