Sambalpur: Six hardcore criminals involved in many crimes were arrested and several weapons and ammunition seized from them in a crackdown by the police in Odisha’s Sambalpur.
The items seized from the possession of the criminals included eight firearms, 22 rounds of live ammunition, a car, two motorcycles and Rs 11.20 lakh cash, police said.
The arrest was made following a special drive launched by four police stations against criminals and illegal firearms.
A thorough investigation is being conducted to ascertain the source of procurement of the weapons, according to Sambalpur Superintendent of Police, Mukesh Bhamo.
It is suspected that the criminals were procuring weapons from states like Bihar and then smuggling the firearms. They were suspected to have been involved in illegal firearm trade and other criminal activities.
They were also involved in extortion of money by using these weapons to terrorise them, police said.
The arrested persons have been identified as Md Samsher, Md Mousim, Manu Pandey, Mohit Paswan, Santosh Moharana and Md Ahmmad.
Further investigation is in progress and efforts are on to ascertain involvement of others in the criminal network.
