11 shotguns, 2,200 cartridges seized, police arrest three

In a big haul of firearms and ammunition, three persons have been arrested with 11 shotguns and 2,200 cartridges set to be supplied to criminals in the city.

Police said kingpin Ashok Singh owns a gun house in Uttar Pradesh, but was exploiting systematic loopholes to sell the weapons and ammunition at a much higher profit to criminals in the city.

The recovered arms were all found to be manufactured and supplied from a legitimate factory. However, they did not have the required permit document.

Police said Ashok would collect arms and ammunition for his gun shop as per the authorised quota from different arms dealers in UP. As per law, carrying around every firearm and round of ammunition require a transport licence (TL).

“Ashok would collect the required TLs from the arms dealers but would not update his stock records or submit the information to the district authorities,” said Delhi Police Special Cell which busted the syndicate.

Instead, the accused allegedly supplied the arms through a chain of peddlers for a high profit, said police.

“The accused had been successfully exploiting systemic flaws in poor auditing of gun shops and connivance of local administrative staff who are supposed to keep a tab on the stock of licensed arms dealers operating in their jurisdiction,” said police on Monday.
A preliminary probe has also indicated that single and double-barrel shotguns have seen greater demand of late in Delhi as possessing them is necessary to gain employment as private security guards for a good salary.

“Expert counterfeiters have been preparing forged licences for possession of these weapons,” said police.

Police had learnt that the suspects would be arriving in Delhi by a car to hand over the weapons to their contacts in Delhi. A trap was laid near ISBT Sarai Kale Khan, but little action took place there despite police tracing Ashok in a Swift Dzire.

Police trailed the car even as someone joined Ashok from Kashmere Gate.
Police nabbed Ashok and his two accomplices while the arms were changing hands at an isolated spot sometime later.

Some weapons and cartridges were found in a bag while the rest were concealed beneath pillows and clothes stacked in the car. Altogether, nine double-barrel guns, two single-barrel guns and 2,200 cartridges have been seized.