Mumbai, April 3 (IANS) Police have recovered a large cache of illegal arms and fake currency from a concealed location in Maharashtra’s Dombivli area of Thane district and arrested a 55-year-old man in connection with the case, officials said on Thursday.

The accused has been identified as Surendra Pandurang Patil. He was apprehended by the Kalyan Unit-3 of the Thane Crime Branch following a tip-off, police said.

According to officials, the raid was conducted in Dombivli East’s Davdi area, where the accused had allegedly created a hidden compartment inside a residential building to store the weapons.

Police said the concealed space was located on the terrace of a five-storey building and could be accessed through a lift duct. The cache was reportedly hidden behind a slipper rack in a specially designed cavity.

During the search operations, the police recovered three country-made pistols, one revolver, seven country-made firearms (kattas), 405 live cartridges and 167 pellets.

Besides, sharp weapons, including two swords, three sickles and knives, along with iron rods, were also seized from the spot, sources said.

In addition to the arms, fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 3.52 lakh were recovered from the accused, the police said.

The total value of the seized material is estimated at around Rs 12.21 lakh, officials added.

According to the police, the arrested individual Surendra Pandurang Patil has a criminal record, with multiple cases registered against him in the past.

Further investigation is underway to determine the source of the weapons and the intended use of the cache.

“We are probing whether the arms were meant for any specific criminal activity or larger conspiracy. We are also trying to ascertain if other individuals are involved in the network,” a senior police officer said.

The accused has been taken into custody and further legal action is being initiated.

–IANS

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