Crime control: Illegal weapons factory uncovered, suspect arrested

Replicas of Russian guns were being manufactured at the factory.

DERA GHAZI KHAN:


Kot Chatha police on Wednesday raided an illegal arms manufacturing factory and arrested a man suspected of running the operation.


Talking to newsmen at a press conference, DSP Javed Jatoi and Kot Chutta Station House Officer Sadiq Khan Rind said an informer had told them that arms were being manufactured in Basti Sindhiwala.

They said on the orders of DPO Ghulam Mubashar Maikan, a team was formed to raid the factory, seize weapons and arrest those found manufacturing them.

Rind said the team raided the factory on Tuesday night and arrested Muhammad Aslam. He said two other men at the factory managed to flee.

Jatoi said police had also confiscated inventories of materials used in manufacturing the weapons. He said replicas of Russian guns were being developed at the factory.


He said the police had evidence suggesting that these manufactured arms were not only being supplied to Tribal Areas but were also exported to other areas of the province.

He said repeaters, Kalashnikov rifles and pistols were also manufactured at the factory.  He said a cache of weapons had been seized.  Rind said police had also confiscated bullet shells that were about to be filled with gunpowder.

Police officials told the press conference that the criminals of the area used to purchase arms from this factory.

They said other weapons manufactured from the factory had been seized by the police in various raids.

Jatoi said Aslam would be produced before a court on Thursday (today).

Jatoi said the DPO had ordered a crackdown on criminal activities to reduce the crime rate in the city. He said over a dozen robbers had been arrested in various raids across the city last month. He said case against them had been registered at the district courts and due legal process was being followed.  Jatoi said policemen found accepting bribes would also be punished. “Police are notorious for accepting bribes,” he said. “Actions of a few have given a bad name to others.”

He said negligence would not be tolerated.  “Any policeman found shirking his duties or harassing citizens would be held accountable,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2014.
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