The Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch police on Saturday busted an arms smuggling racket with the arrest of the kingpin of the gang from near Acharya Vihar area of Bhubaneswar.
The arms smuggler identified as Sanjay Kumar Sahoo of Cuttack district was intercepted in a joint initiative of STF and Bhubaneswar commissionerate police.
The arms recovered from the possession of Sahoo, who had a history of crime, included 9 mm automatic country-made pistol with a magazine, a revolver, two SBML brand guns, six 9-MM live ammunitions, two numbers 8 MM live ammunition and three ball ammunition.
The history-sheeter was apprehended on the basis of a specific intelligence report, said Deputy Inspector General, STF, Jai Narayan Pankaj.
It is suspected that the arrested accused used to supply illegal arms to gangsters and lawbreakers in the State. His suspected nexus with notorious crime syndicates active in the State is being thoroughly investigated, stated DIG Pankaj.
The modus operandi of the arms smugglers and the source of procurement of the illegal arms are also being looked into, he added.