A joint team of the Bihar Police and the Special Task Force (STF) arrested three alleged smugglers and seized more than 19,000 rounds of ammunition in Bhojpur district on Monday, November 2, news agency IANS reported. The operation was conducted near Manbhawan Mor under the Koilwar police station area.
Source: IANS via India Tribune
Police said the accused were travelling in a Tata Safari SUV when the team intercepted the vehicle. During the search, officers recovered over 19,000 rounds of 7.65 mm calibre ammunition and a loaded pistol from the vehicle.
The three arrested men were identified as Saras Kumar and Laltu Kumar, both from Muzaffarpur district, and Chandan Tiwari, from Siwan district, police said. All three are alleged smugglers; the allegations have not been tested in court.
According to IANS, the occupants allegedly tried to escape when the SUV was stopped, during which their vehicle collided with a Tata Harrier approaching from behind and a Tata Nexon coming from the opposite direction. Both vehicles sustained damage to their front sections, and police personnel overpowered and arrested all three occupants.
Police said the men were reportedly not carrying mobile phones, GPS devices or other electronic gadgets, a detail investigators are treating as a deliberate precaution to avoid detection. Nation Press reported that the team had kept the suspects under surveillance and moved to intercept the SUV at Manbhawan Mor after it entered Bihar on Monday morning.
Source: Nation Press
According to a police official cited by IANS, preliminary investigations suggest the ammunition had been brought from western Uttar Pradesh and was intended for distribution across different parts of North Bihar, particularly Muzaffarpur.
Following the seizure, senior STF official Anjani Singh arrived in Koilwar from Patna to interrogate the accused and gather further information about the network. Police and the STF said they are investigating the criminal backgrounds of the arrested men and trying to identify other members of the alleged smuggling syndicate, including suppliers and intended buyers.