Pindi police foil gunrunning bid

Rawal SP says ‘organised group’ behind arms smuggling

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi police Saturday claimed to have foiled an attempt to smuggle a heavy cache of weapons ammunition worth millions of rupees.

According to sources, two suspects were arrested, and efforts are being made to arrest the third suspect who fled the scene.

Rawal Division Superintendent of Police  Faisal Saleem said that a large cache of weapons was being smuggled, but the police foiled the attempt and red-handedly arrested two smugglers, identified as Tariq and Abdul Haseeb, who were smuggling the weapons from Peshawar to Rawalpindi.

The police recovered 50 pistols, four Kalashnikovs, and 12 rifles, including two MP-V rifles, two rifles of 30 bores, one of 222 bores, one rifle of 30 bores, and two 12-bore rifles.

In addition, 4,800 bullets of different bores, 100 cartridges, and 135 magazines were retrieved from the suspects' vehicle. SP Rawal claimed that a team of Pirhai Duhai Police used a smart strategy to stop the suspicious vehicle and recover the weapons. During the check, the police arrested two smugglers and seized the weapons and the vehicle used in the crime. The third suspect, identified as Ilyas, fled the scene, and efforts are being made to arrest him.

SP Rawal further said that an organised group is involved in weapons smuggling, which supplies weapons to various districts of Punjab, including Rawalpindi. The illegal weapons were being used in various crimes and terrorist activities. The police will obtain physical remand of the suspects and conduct further investigation, and soon other suspects involved in weapons smuggling will be arrested. Rawalpindi police will work with K-P police and other law enforcement agencies to arrest the suspects involved in weapons smuggling, the sources further added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2024.