Patna, Jan. 30: Nine members of a gang involved in a series of crimes in Patna district were arrested today, but its kingpin fled.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided an area at Pandarak village under Pandarak police station and arrested the criminals. The gang leader, Bhola Singh, gave the police the slip.

A history-sheeter, Singh hails from Mokama and is said to be a close associate of a ruling party MLA.

Addressing a news meet, senior superintendent of police Alok Kumar said: “Acting on the tip-off, the district police, along with their Mokama counterpart, raided Pandarak and arrested nine members of the gang.”

Kumar added: “The police seized a large stock of arms and ammunition from the spot.”

The seized items included a rifle, an AK-47 magazine, one 9mm pistol, a country-made pistol, 20 cartridges of AK-47 and 52 other cartridges, an SUV and 10 cellphones.

The police said prima facie it appeared the criminals had assembled at Pandarak village to discuss their next crime.

Sources said the gang was involved in different types of crimes.