National-level shooter held

Bishnoi key accused in gun-running, wildlife smuggling racket

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested national-level shooter Prashant Bishnoi, a key accused in the multi-crore gun-running and wildlife smuggling case. He was produced before a local court here which sent him to 14 days judicial custody.

The arrest comes a month after searches conducted by DRI sleuths at Mr Bishnoi’s Meerut residence and recovered `1 crore cash besides over a hundred illegally imported firearms, 117 kg of nilgai meat, horns and skins of leopards and blackbucks. He is alleged to be the kingpin of a global syndicate involved in smuggling of fire arms and wildlife.

Mr Bishnoi appeared before DRI officials on Thursday in response to a summon issued against him. Mr Bishnoi was confronted with evidence collected by the agency during searches. He accepted to be the part of the global smuggling racket, sources claimed. Three accused, including Slovenian national Boris Sobotic Mikolic, have already been arrested for their alleged involvement in the case.

The trio were intercepted after their arrival at Delhi airport from Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana on April 29. They were carrying 25 illegally imported lethal weapons and other items worth about `4.5 crore with them, sources said. They had incorrectly declared the quantity and value of arms and ammunition to the customs officials and tried to get them cleared by misusing the scheme meant for renowned shooters, they said. The accused — Amit Goyal, Anil Kumar Langan and Mikolic — were arrested for allegedly violating customs rules to evade payment of import duty.