Man who sold 700 illegal weapons in 5 years arrested

The police on Sunday arrested an illegal arms supplier, who had allegedly supplied over 700 weapons to people in Rajasthan, Haryana and the National Capital Region (NCR) in the past five years. The police said seven guns were recovered from his possession.

According to the police, the suspect, Mohammad Khan, 35, a native of Kaithwara of Bharatpur (Rajasthan) was arrested from Vatika Mor near Sohna-Ballabgarh Road, after a team of Sohna crime branch received a tip-off that he was coming to the area to meet a potential customer.

Shamsher Singh, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that a preliminary probe revealed that Khan had made the weapons himself with the purpose of selling them.

“The list of people whom he sold the weapons is being compiled. He operated alone and used to make weapons, such as country-made pistols, guns and 12-bore shotgun. He has so far sold over 700 weapons in the past five years,” said ACP Singh.

The police said he had two criminal cases registered in Ferozepur Jhirka and Kaithwara against him.

A senior police official from the crime branch, Sohna, requesting anonymity, said that the suspect made weapons at a makeshift facility on a hill in his native village in Kaithwara, Rajasthan. “He made guns using parts of trucks and heavy vehicles and was arrested earlier by Rajasthan police, but came out on bail,” said the police official.

He was produced in the district court on Monday and sent to the police custody for two days. A case was registered against the accused under relevant sections of The Arms Act at the Sadar Sohna police station on Sunday, said the police.

On August 22, the Special Task Force (STF) had arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly supplying illegal firearms and ammunition to criminals in Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh. The suspect purchased weapons from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and sold them at a profit.

First Published: Sep 10, 2019 02:34 IST