Two illegal arms factories unearthed

NEW DELHI - Delhi Police Saturday claimed to have busted a major contraband arms racket with the unearthing of two illegal arms factories and the arrest of two men.

Mohammad Hashim, 52, ran a cycle repair shop in East Vinod Nagar area of east Delhi “but was clandestinely making arms by assembling various parts during night time”, said Arun Kampani, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).

Mohammad Sagir, 32, ran the other illegal arms factory in the Islam Nagar area of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and specialised in making 9mm pistols and .32 bore revolvers. The duo was arrested Thursday and over 100 weapons seized from them, said police.

“We apprehended them in the capital while they were on their way to supply the arms. We recovered a revolver and a pistol along with 11 live cartridges from the duo,” said a police official.

Searches in both their factories yielded functional and ready to assemble weapon components for 20 pistols of 9mm bore, 80 pistols of .315 bore, 9 revolvers of .32 bore besides two .315 bore pistols with 6 cartridges, a .32 bore revolver with 6 cartridges and a 9mm pistol with 5 cartridges.

“The total recovery has been 113 weapons including pistols and revolvers,” Kampani said.

According to police, the accused revealed that the average selling price of each weapon was between Rs.15,000 and Rs.20,000 or even more depending on the client’s urgency.