Arms smuggling?: Police hold army man smuggling grenades, SMG bullets

The suspect was arrested from Golra area; claims to have brought them along by accident.

ISLAMABAD:

The city police on Monday seized more than three hundred sub-machine gun (SMG) rounds and three hand grenades from a suspect who turned out to be a serving military man, sources told The Express Tribune.

He was booked under the Explosives Act and for illegal possession of ammunition, but not under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), as the police’s initial investigations ruled out the possibility of the suspect having intent to use the materials for terrorist activity.

According to a police official, the Golra police received information that a man in Sadaat Colony would try to smuggle ammunition including hand grenades into the city.

A police party arrested the suspect right after he left a house in the colony. After frisking the suspect, the police recovered 375 SMG rounds and three grenades from his possession.

He was shifted to a lock-up and a case was registered against him after an hour-long preliminary interrogation.

Investigation Officer Assistant Sub-Inspector Inamullah and the police spokesperson did not confirm the identity of the suspect beyond his name (Suhail).

However, a Golra police official said the suspect looked mentally disturbed. A police source said the suspect told them that he was heading home on leave to Gujar Khan from a military unit in Peshawar.

Suhail said he had obtained leave from his supervisors as his father was unwell. About the ammunition, the suspect claimed to have taken it along by mistake, the source added.

The police shared no information on the ends the suspect hoped to achieve, and no senior police official responded to repeated inquiries.

They also refused to comment on why the suspect was staying in Sadaat Colony when he had taken leave for Gujar Khan.

A military official confirmed that they were also investigating the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2012.