Illegal arms supplier nabbed

Bhubaneswar: Police have seized six semi-automatic pistols from a person here during an operation conducted in the early hours of Friday. Acting on a tip-off, the special crime unit of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate conducted the raid in Chandaka police station area around 2 am on Friday and confiscated six semi-automatic pistols along with 10 rounds of live ammunition, said Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh.

The police have arrested an accused person Manoj Kumar Mallick of Jajpur district for his alleged involvement in illegal firearm trade, he said. “Our drive to crack down on illegal firearms trade is underway. During the last six months, we have seized 34 firearms,” he said. Due to continuous seizure of firearms, firing incidents in the twin cities have been almost stopped, Singh added.

“The confiscation of a significant cache of weapons and the apprehension of key suspects mark important progress in our ongoing efforts to protect the community. We remain resolute in our mission to dismantle criminal networks and hold perpetrators accountable,” said another police officer.

Further investigation continues to trace the supply chain, uncover financial backers, and identify any broader networks involved, the officer said.

On December 7 last year, Odisha Police had arrested two suspected members of an inter-state arms trafficking network and seized 11 firearms, including a carbine, from their possession. The Special Crime Unit (SCU) of the Commissionerate Police apprehended the two arms smugglers during a special operation in the Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar.

The accused were identified as Sumanta Naik (30) from Angul district, and Soubhagya Naik (30) from Dhenkanal district. The accused persons’ vehicle was intercepted when they were on their way to Berhampur from Angul to deliver a substantial cache of weapons to criminal elements in the region.

The firearms were procured from Jharkhand and Bihar. Both individuals have extensive criminal backgrounds, with multiple cases registered against them, including violations of the Arms Act, robbery, and dacoity.