Two illegal weapon suppliers arrested from north Delhi
We laid a trap near the Loni flyover. Around 1.15pm, one of the accused was spotted carrying a bag on a motorcycle. After getting down from the bike, he was seemingly waiting for someone. When the police team surrounded him, he took a pistol out of his pocket and threatened to fire at the officials
SANJEEV YADAV, DCP (Special Cell)
NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police’s special cell has arrested two members of a gang of illegal weapon manufacturers and suppliers. A cache of 31 countrymade pistols, one of which was loaded with live cartridge, were recovered from their possession, police said.
Police said the two accused — 52-year-old Mohammad Azam Saifi and 28-year-old Akbar — were arrested from near Loni flyover in north Delhi.
Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said, “We got a tip off and our teams laid a trap near the Loni flyover. Around 1.15pm, Akbar was spotted carrying a bag on a motorcycle. After getting down from the motorcycle, Akbar was seemingly waiting for someone. When the police team surrounded him, he took a pistol out of his pocket and threatened to fire at the officials.”
Police said while 24 pistols were recovered from his possession almost immediately, the accused revealed the location of seven other pistols during questioning. He also revealed the whereabouts of Saifi.
DCP Yadav said the special cell had launched a crackdown on illegal supply of arms firearms into the national capital from the neighbouring states and were keeping a close watch on the movements of illegal firearms suppliers. “After efforts of over three months, the special cell team received information about Akbar delivering a huge consignment of illegal firearms to one of his contacts in Delhi,” said Yadav.
On questioning, the two revealed that they had been involved in arms supply for over five years and that they used to get the pistols illegally supplied from Meerut.
While Akbar has been previously arrested in two cases under Arms Act, Saifi was arrested by Meerut police for keeping countrymade pistols and semi-automatic arms in 2012.