Delhi Police arrest 10 in cross-border arms smuggling case

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New Delhi, March 25

The Delhi Police have dismantled an alleged international arms smuggling network with links to Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, arresting 10 people and recovering 21 foreign-made firearms and 200 live cartridges.

Police said on Wednesday that the haul included sophisticated weapons such as a Czech Republic-made sub-machine gun, automatic pistols and several high-end handguns allegedly sourced from multiple countries.

According to officials, the seized cache included PX-5.7 pistols, which are generally associated with special forces, Stoeger pistols made in Turkey, PX-3 pistols from China, Shadow CZ pistols from the Czech Republic, and pistols manufactured by Beretta of Italy, Taurus of Brazil and Walther of Germany.

Investigators said preliminary findings suggest the group was part of a “well-organised” cross-border network involved in smuggling illegal weapons into India and supplying them to criminal elements.

Police alleged that the accused were in contact with international handlers and suppliers based in neighbouring countries, and that the syndicate used covert routes and intermediaries to move arms across borders before distributing them to contacts in different parts of the country.

Officials said efforts are under way to establish the module’s backward and forward linkages and identify other people connected to the network.

Further investigation is continuing.