New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) In a major breakthrough against the illegal arms trade, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a notorious arms supplier and three receivers, recovering 15 semi-automatic pistols, 150 live rounds of ammunition, and eight additional magazines.

Officials said the syndicate has links with the Neeraj Bawania gang and other criminal groups active in Delhi-NCR.

The operation, led by Inspector Neeraj Kumar Sharma of NR-II/Crime Branch under the supervision of ACP Narender Beniwal, was launched on the basis of specific intelligence.

On August 11, a trap was laid near Netaji Subhash Place, where 42-year-old Mohd Shajid alias Rashid, a resident of Wazirpur JJ Colony, was apprehended in his car.

Police recovered 10 pistols, 118 live rounds, and eight magazines from the vehicle. A case under the Arms Act was registered against him. Subsequent raids led to the arrest of three more accused — Vishal Rana alias Bhola, 28, Aniket alias Pardeep, 32, and Saurabh Dhingra alias Manny, 38 — from different parts of Delhi.

Five pistols and 32 rounds of various calibres were seized from their possession.

“During interrogation, accused Mohd. Shajid disclosed that he had previously supplied illegal firearms to several criminals across Delhi,” the Delhi Police said in a press statement.

“Accused Mohd. Shajid @ Rashid disclosed that he had been procuring illegal firearms from various individuals in Meerut and supplying them to different gangs and criminals in Delhi, including the Neeraj Bawania gang, Afsar gang and others,” it added.

The illegal firearms and ammunition were sourced from UP’s Meerut and Mawana.

The accused has a long criminal history and has been involved in criminal activities since 2012.

Notably, all four men were found to have past criminal records, including cases of robbery, attempt to murder, and previous arms recoveries.

Interrogation revealed that Shajid had been sourcing weapons from Meerut and Mawana in Uttar Pradesh at the price of Rs 35,000–40,000 per weapon and selling them to gangsters for Rs 50,000–60,000 each, earning large profits.

He admitted to having supplied over 100 firearms to Delhi-based gangs since 2012, despite earlier arrests, including by the Special Cell in 2023.

DCP, Crime Branch, Harsh Indora said the syndicate’s backward linkages in western Uttar Pradesh have been identified, and further operations are underway to trace the suppliers.

–IANS

sas/vd