Bhubaneswar: Police on Tuesday busted a robbery gang and arrested nine members from various parts of the city.

However, the seizure of three pistols and one revolver from the gang has caused concern among police officers who are yet to ascertain the source of the firearms.

Briefing newspersons on the development, police commissioner Y.B. Khurnia said the gang was busted during a robbery investigation in which five goons had decamped with gold and silver ornaments from a jewellery shop owner from Manchwswar in January.

"The gang members used firearms to terrorise the victim. Investigations revealed that the gang was involved in a number of such cases at Mancheswar and Infocity," said Khurania.

The cops also seized eight live rounds from the gang along with seven motorcycles. "The gang was active since 2014 and involved in two cases in which they took away Rs 26 lakh in cash in two separate incidents at Infocity. The gang operated in the city outskirts. The gang had seven other members, of whom five are in jail," said a police officer.

The police said the accused claimed that they secured the arms from a trader in Jagatsinghpur. "The gang has not opened fire on any of the victims. One of the gang members used to provide details on the victims carrying cash and other valuables. We will bring some of them on remand to ascertain the source of the firearms," said the officer.

The cops recovered 96 firearms between 2014 and 2017 from Bhubaneswar. During this period, they also seized 167 bullets.

The police said most of these guns were smuggled in from Bihar and Jharkhand and supplied through middlemen. Sources said country-made pistols, revolvers and foreign-made revolvers are available for proces ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 70,000. The guns are delivered to the goons within a week by the middlemen, the sources said.