The guns were reportedly bought and smuggled from North India, and sold in the illegal market at 10 times the price.
Left: Crime Branch head constable Parameswaran; Right: The illegal pistols seized
Thiruchirapalli:
A special team from the Organised Crime Intelligence Unit (OCIU) from Thanjavur came to Tiruchy following a tip off that the gang members were staying at a lodge in the city. The team informed their counterparts in Tiruchy, and together, they zeroed in on a hotel near the central bus stand in Tiruchy where the trio were suspected to be holed up.
The team found the three suspects in a room at the hotel.
According to sources, the three included S Parameswaran, a head constable with the Tamil Nadu police, now attached to the Chennai City Crime branch.
Along with him, Nagaraj from Villivakkam, Chennai, and Siva from Pattukottai in Thanjavur, too were arrested, sources added.
The police team managed to recover two pistols and ten bullets from the gang.
After preliminary investigation, the OCIU sleuths found out that Parameswaran was the key person in the pistol smuggling racket. They reportedly bought the illegal weapon at a relatively low price of Rs 10,000, which they sold for bidders in the underground market at as high as Rs one lakh. Alarmed by this, the special team has taken the trio to the Armed Reserve Police camp for further interrogation.
Officials said they were in the process of finding out the number of such illegal weapons that the gang sold in Tamil Nadu, and the details about their customers – believed to be criminals and other antisocial elements.
Sources said a police team led by Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order) Sakthi Ganesh has been questioning the trio. However, due to the gravity of the case in which a police official is involved in illegal arms sale, officials are remaining tightlipped, refusing to divulge the details of the case.
Duo procured fake notes from Malda
A day after two men were arrested in Chennai with five pistols and counterfeit currency, police sources on Saturday said the duo could have procured the fake notes from Malda in West Bengal.While National Investigation Agency is probing whether Kamaal (27) and Pradeep (27) smuggled the fake notes from Pakistan, city police have reportedly decided to question the wife Mohamed Rafeeq, the main accused in 2014 espionage case now lodged in Puzhal prison. He had befriended Pradeep in the prison and had explained the modus operandi to smuggle fake notes. Interrogations revealed that this was the fourth consignment they smuggled into the city.
Conversations