Cuttack: Arms smuggling racket busted as police seize 4 guns, arrest three men

Cuttack: The Jagatpur police have busted an inter-state arms smuggling racket and arrested three men in this connection. Cops have also seized four country-made guns and 12 live bullets from their possession.

As per police sources, cops had on Sunday evening raided various localities, during which notorious criminal Prakash Behera alias Babua was arrested. He was found in possession of a 9 mm pistol and three live bullets.

Further investigation revealed Babua’s involvement in a network dealing in arms and ammunition, with its roots traced back to Munger district in Bihar. Acting upon this revelation, the police apprehended another criminal namely Pyari Mohan Das alias Pintu from Jagatsinghpur district, along with his accomplice Mihir Kumar Ray.

A subsequent search led to the discovery of two firearms and seven live bullets in Pintu’s possession, while Mihir was found with one firearm and two live bullets.

During interrogation, Pintu confessed to sourcing the arms from Munger district and disclosed his prior association with individuals there for procuring arms. Moreover, it was revealed that the syndicate was planning armed robberies targeting cash transport vehicles for ATMs in Cuttack and neighboring districts.

On the other hand, two more members of the syndicate have been identified, with ongoing efforts to apprehend them. A special team from UPD Cuttack is slated to visit Munger for further investigation, and the accused will be brought in for remand to facilitate continued interrogation.

Babua has a criminal record with 10 cases against him, while Pintu has 19 criminal cases registered against him at various police stations.