AIRGUNS FOUND IN RAID ON ILLEGAL CALL RACKET

The police arrested a 29-year-old man and his father and recovered five airguns, one of which was imported and had a telescopic lens. The police had raided their house in connection with an illegal international call racket. The cops found the father had two passports and had visited Pakistan.

The central crime station arrested a 29-year-old man and his father from Habeebnagar and recovered five airguns, including an imported one, with telescopic lens. Although the police raided their house in connection with an illegal international call routing case, the cops found the father had two passports and visited Pakistan once in the past.

The police also recovered four knives and electronic equipment used for illegal routing of international calls. Senior police officials said they are investigating all angles including terror.

“The probe is still in the initial stage. So far we have not got any evidence that links them to terror outfits. One of the guns is an imported one. Some of them have telescopic lenses. We are checking whether it is legal for a citizen to have an imported airgun,” said CCS DCP Avinash Mohanty. “The suspects’ involvement in call routing is confirmed. We will be investigating use of the weapon and other angles,” said the DCP.

The suspect, Fahad Ahmed, told the police that he got an airgun imported from the US and enjoyed shooting. He said he uses the guns at private shooting ranges in farmhouses on the city's outskirts.

Cops say Indian air guns can be bought without an arms licence, but an imported airgun is different.

Police said they were searching for a telephone network that was being operated since some months for call routing. After a thorough inquiry they focused on a house in Habeebnagar, where the arms were found.

Police said that international calls must be routed only through licensed telecom service providers who charge for using their gateways. However, Fahad had set up his own illegal gateways on the Net and was receiving international calls bypassing legal ones.