Father, son held for smuggling firearms

Police said the arrested men allegedly supplied hundreds of illegal arms and ammunition to criminals in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the last one decade.

A 45-year-old man from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh and his 25-year-old son were arrested for allegedly running an interstate illegal firearms trafficking racket, the police said on Saturday. Eight sophisticated pistols and 18 cartridges were seized from the two arrested men.

Father, son held for smuggling firearms (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said the arrested men allegedly supplied hundreds of illegal arms and ammunition to criminals in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the last one decade.

The 45-year-old man, identified as Mohammad Haroon, is allegedly involved in four criminal cases, including a 2015 murder case, the police said.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) G Ram Gopal Naik said the recent crime trends in the national capital region indicate firearms used by criminals in the city are supplied by gunrunners operating from UP’s Meerut and Mathura, Bihar’s Munger, Haryana’s Mewat and various places in MP. “We checked the antecedents of people involved in manufacturing and supply of illegal firearms. A drive was launched to nab such gunrunners,” he said.

On March 26, the DCP said, the crime branch team received information that allegedly, one Haroon from Meerut, who has been involved in supplying illegal firearms, would visit Delhi along with his son, Mohammad Imran, to deliver a consignment of arms and ammunition to their contacts. The police learnt that the delivery of the consignment of firearms would be done near Ghazipur fruit market.

“Our team laid a trap and saw two men arriving there on a motorcycle. When they tried to nab them, Imran whipped out a pistol. The policemen caught him before he could fire. His pistol loaded with four bullets were seized. His father was caught with seven pistols and 14 cartridges,” added the DCP.

During the interrogation, the senior officer said, Haroon disclosed he worked as a mason earlier. In 2009, he allegedly came in contact with Rahees, a supplier of illegal firearms in Meerut, and became his partner, the DCP added.

In 2010, Haroon was arrested by the Delhi Police special cell and sent to jail, where he allegedly came in contact with many criminals of Delhi and UP. “After coming out of jail, Haroon started supplying illegal weapons to those criminals and their associates. His son also joined him in the illegal business,” the DCP said.