Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Wednesday nabbed two persons allegedly involved in illegal arms trading and seized five semi-automatic pistols, 24 rounds of live ammunition, mobile phones and magazines in raids conducted at different locations of Odisha capital.
The accused have been identified as Suraj Parida and Tapudhar Nayak.
According to police sources, the criminals were nabbed during the raids conducted at different places in Bhubaneswar including Tamando and Hanspal. It was part of a special drive launched by the Commissionerate Police to check illegal arms trading ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
“Special drives are being conducted and special focus is being laid on busting illegal firearms rackets. We have got some information regarding the source of procurement of the weapons. Once the accused are on remand, we will be able to get more information from them,” Commissioner of Police Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Sanjeeb Panda told media.
The Commissionerate Police seized 38 firearms from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in 2023. This year, it has already seized 17 firearms.
