New Delhi: In a significant operation, the Special Staff of Delhi Police’s Dwarka district have arrested three criminals involved in the illegal arms trade and recovered 14 country-made pistols and 3 live cartridges from their possession. The arrests were made as part of ongoing efforts to prevent and combat the supply of illegal firearms to local criminals and gangsters, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused persons have been identified as Sonu alias Rinku (26) a resident of Kirari Suleman Nagar, Delhi, Monu (23), resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, (Previously involved in Arms Act case at Incholi Police Station, Meerut) and Kuldeep (27), resident of Village Khedi Tappa, Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh.
The breakthrough came following specific information received by Head Constable Rajkumar about a person named Sonu, a resident of Delhi, who was involved in procuring illegal firearms and ammunition from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, and supplying them to local criminals and gangsters in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), M Harsha Vardhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dwarka said.
Later, the team gathered intelligence through manual and technical surveillance and successfully apprehended Sonu on June 27 near Uttam Nagar. During the arrest, a total of 9 country-made pistols and 3 live cartridges were recovered from his possession. Sonu revealed that he procured the illegal firearms from a person named Monu from Mavi Meera Village, Meerut, and distributed them to local criminals in Delhi and the NCR, Harsha Vardhan confirmed.
To track down the source of the weapons, the team conducted several raids in different regions of Uttar Pradesh. Eventually, on July 1, Monu was apprehended in Meerut, and 3 country-made pistols were seized from him. Monu revealed that he acquired the illegal weapons from another individual named Kuldeep from Khedi Tappa Village, Meerut. Subsequently, Kuldeep was arrested, and 2 country-made pistols were recovered from his possession, DCP Dwarka mentioned.
During interrogation, Sonu revealed that he used to work as a waiter at marriage functions and met Monu at a wedding in Meerut last year. Monu proposed the illegal firearms deal to Sonu, who then became involved in the supply of weapons. Sonu would earn Rs 4,000-5,000 per weapon supplied. He utilised public transport, particularly local buses, to transport illegal firearms and avoid police checking. Monu and Kuldeep, who are residents of Meerut, would conceal the firearms in sugarcane fields, away from the villages, to avoid detection by the police, Harsha Vardhan said.