62 illegal weapons seized in Navi Mumbai ahead of LS polls

Navi Mumbai police seize over 62 illegal weapons, drugs worth ₹2.50 crore in 'Operation All Out' during Lok Sabha elections to maintain law-and-order.

Navi Mumbai: In the past one-and-a-half month, the Navi Mumbai police have seized over 62 illegal weapons, including pistols, revolvers, swords, knives and drugs worth ₹2.50 crore as part of ‘Operation All Out’ conducted amid the Lok Sabha elections to maintain law-and-order in the city.

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As part of the operation, gambling dens, illegal liquor vends, hotels and lodges etc. were raided across the metropolis’ five police regions. In addition to confiscating weapons, the police also seized drugs worth ₹2.50 crore and ₹2.09 crore in cash being transported illegally.

Officials involved in the operation said that nearly 4,220 litres of liquor estimated to cost the market over ₹4.87 lakh was seized during the operation and 193 offences were also registered against the offenders.

There were regular naka-bandis conducted at various junctions and as a result, the department was able to prevent smuggling of unaccounted cash of ₹2.09 crore through various private vehicles.

The fifth phase of the election will be held on May 20, and the special operation has tried to avert any illegal activities that could affect the polling process.

“The operation was directed to have a total crackdown on all forms of illegal activities be it transporting of liquor, possessing unlicensed arms and weapons or having large amounts of cash. We had multiple teams like the Flying Squad team (FST), Static Surveillance Team (SST) and the local police regularly conducting raids and registering cases based on the findings. The ₹2.09 crore was found in the course of such an operation,” said a senior police officer.

12 Mobile Surveillance Teams and 14 Stationary Surveillance Teams have been formed in the Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate jurisdiction.

One of the major successes achieved by the police was the confiscation of large quantities of contraband and drugs. A total of 28 raids were conducted during the operation and drugs worth ₹2.5 crore were seized. This included contrabands such as 2,076 grams of cocaine worth ₹1.88 core, 598.45 grams of MD worth ₹61.63 lakh and 1,856-gram charas worth ₹55.68 lakh, 56.187 kg of ganja worth ₹9.50 lakh, 1.24 grams of LSD worth ₹9.80 lakh. Similarly, 10,605 Gutkha pouches worth ₹32.26 lakh were seized in nine different raids.