Delhi: ‘Balloon seller’ arrested with 20 guns near Dwarka

Police said the suspect, Mathura resident Mufeed (only first name), was caught at around 10.30pm on Friday from Ghumanhera Modh area near Dwarka.

A 27-year-old man, who allegedly posed as a balloon seller to smuggle illegal guns into the national capital, was arrested along with 20 pistols from near Dwarka, Delhi Police said on Saturday.

Police said Mufeed got the pistols from Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh and was allegedly planning to sell it to criminals in the NCR region. (HT File Photo)

Police said the suspect, Mathura resident Mufeed (only first name), was caught at around 10.30pm on Friday from Ghumanhera Modh area near Dwarka.

Police said that to avoid suspicion, the suspect carried balloons and also had a bag with many new packets of balloon. He reportedly told police that he had come to Delhi to deliver arms to his contacts.

“ When our officers first spotted him, he appeared to be a nondescript balloon seller on the road at night. When we tried to check him, he ran while waving a pistol at the police team. Our officers managed to overpower and catch him,” said Santosh Kumar Meena, DCP(Dwarka).

Police said Mufeed got the pistols from Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh and was allegedly planning to sell it to criminals in the NCR region. Police are trying to trace his contacts in the city.

Preliminary investigation revealed Mufeed was earlier arrested for carrying illegal arms at the Kosi Kalan police station in Uttar Pradesh.

In the run up to the Independence Day celebrations, the national capital is on high alert. In an interstate meeting held last week at the Delhi Police headquarters, the top brass of many north Indian states such as UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi have agreed to work together to stop smuggling of arms and ammunition.