Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Nov 14: The Mumbai Crime Branch has intensified its crackdown on illegal arms smuggling and unauthorised possession of firearms, arresting a man and recovering two country-made pistols and 19 live cartridges from his possession.
According to police officials, the Crime Branch received specific intelligence that a man was planning to bring illegal firearms and live ammunition into the Agripada area without any valid licence or permit.
Acting on the tip-off, a team from Crime Branch Unit 2 laid a trap in the area and detained a man who was allegedly moving around suspiciously.
During a search, the police recovered two country-made pistols and 19 live cartridges from him. The accused was identified as Ganesh Landge.
A case has been registered against him at Agripada Police Station under relevant sections of the Arms Act. The Crime Branch is investigating the source of the weapons, their intended use and whether the accused was linked to a larger illegal arms network.
During the court proceedings, the accused claimed that the police had arrived suddenly to arrest him. However, the police told the court that they had received information about four people sitting together, allegedly armed with weapons.
The police further informed the court that some of the accused were absconding and that they needed to investigate the Tiger Shroff case. They also stated that the investigation into the source of the firearms and the purpose for which they were brought was still underway.
The accused was subsequently remanded to two days of police custody.
In a similar operation on May 24, the Mumbai Crime Branch had arrested three alleged operatives linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and seized three sophisticated Chinese-made pistols and 45 live cartridges.
The arrests were made by the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch near St George's Hospital on P D'Mello Road in South Mumbai, following specific intelligence inputs about armed gang members entering the city.
Investigators had launched a probe to establish why the accused had brought the weapons to Mumbai and whether they were planning to carry out any high-profile criminal activity.