A team of Malda police, disguised as boatmen, intercepted a youth on a boat on the Ganga on Wednesday and seized a cache of illegal firearms and ammunition from him.
This undercover operation took place near Char-Babupur village, Kaliachak police station limits.
The arrested youth, Sabir Alam, 21, is from Piyarpur village of neighbouring Jharkhand's Sahebganj district. He was transporting the illegal firearms and ammunition to Malda by boat with the help of two aides, who, however, managed to swim away.
Avijit Banerjee, the superintendent of police of Malda, said they had received a confidential tip-off.
“Based on the information, a police team disguised as boatmen waited in another boat on the river. As the suspects’ boat approached, the police chased it. While two of the accused managed to escape by jumping into the river, the key accused was nabbed,” he said.
The police recovered five 7mm pistols, five magazines, and 21 rounds of live cartridges from Alam.
“We have got details of both the accomplices who absconded from the spot. Our officers are also examining the seized firearms to determine their place of manufacture,” the SP said.
He said that in the past one month, the police seized 36 illegal firearms and 74 rounds of live cartridges in Malda.
Alam will be produced at a local court in Malda on Thursday, police sources said.
“We need to interrogate him on the source and the intended destination of the arms and ammunition,” said a police officer.