New Delhi, March 25 The Delhi Police said on Wednesday that they have busted an arms smuggling module with links to Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, and arrested 10 people.
A cache of sophisticated foreign-made weapons, including sub-machine guns and automatic pistols, along with 200 live cartridges, has been recovered from the accused, they said.
According to police, a total of 21 firearms were seized during the operation, comprising high-end automatic weapons and pistols sourced from multiple countries.
Among the recovered weapons are a sub-machine gun made in the Czech Republic and a range of pistols of different international makes.
The seized arms include PX-5.7 pistols, which are generally used by special forces, Stoeger pistols manufactured in Turkey, PX-3 pistols from China, Shadow CZ pistols from the Czech Republic, as well as Beretta (Italy), Taurus (Brazil) and Walther (Germany) pistols, officials said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the module was part of a well-organized cross-border network involved in smuggling and supplying illegal arms to criminal elements in India, they said.
The accused were allegedly in contact with international handlers and suppliers operating from neighboring countries, the police said.
The syndicate used covert routes and intermediaries to transport weapons across borders and further distribute them to contacts in different parts of the country, they added.
The police said efforts are underway to trace the backward and forward linkages of the module and identify other associates involved in the network.
Further investigation is underway.