In a significant operation targeting the illegal weapons trade, a combined force of Bihar Police and the Special Task Force (STF) apprehended five individuals belonging to an interstate arms smuggling network. The raid was carried out in the Laheri police station area of Nalanda district, leading to the seizure of a substantial cache of illicit arms and ammunition.
Key Accused Wanted by NIA Among Those Arrested
Officials disclosed on Thursday that one of the arrested persons is a key accused wanted in a case currently under investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The arrested individuals have been identified as Parvez Alam from Gauragarh Mohalla in Bihar Sharif, who is the NIA-linked suspect. The others taken into custody are Saurabh Kumar Jha, a tenant in Sohan Kuan under Laheri police station and originally from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, and three brothers from Azad Nagar in Jamshedpur – Jiyar Jai, Mohammad Mehboob (alias Tinku), and Zahid Hussain.
Intelligence-Led Sting Operation Details
According to Laheri Station House Officer (SHO) Ranjit Kumar Rajak, the successful raid was executed based on specific intelligence inputs. The police had information that Saurabh and Parvez had called the three Jharkhand-based brothers to Sohan Kuan for an arms deal on Wednesday. Saurabh Kumar Jha had previously been arrested from Patna's SK Puri area, and during his interrogation, he divulged critical information about the planned transaction.
As the illegal deal was underway, the joint police and STF team moved in and captured all the suspects in Nalanda. The operation resulted in the recovery of a large quantity of illegal weaponry from the spot. The seized items include:
- 153 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition used in AK-47 rifles.
- Five country-made pistols.
- Eleven magazines.
- Nine mobile phones.
- Cash amounting to Rs 24,000.
- One SUV believed to have been used for transporting the arms.
Gang's Cross-Border Network and Criminal History
Police sources indicated that this gang was actively involved in smuggling arms across the porous Bihar-Jharkhand border. The arrest of Parvez Alam sheds light on the entrenched nature of such networks; he has a long criminal history, including an arrest in 2013 when he was caught with 600 cartridges. This points to his sustained involvement in illegal arms trafficking activities over many years.
The police have registered First Information Reports (FIRs) against all five accused and are conducting thorough interrogations. The focus is on uncovering their connections to other gang members and mapping the broader supply chain of weapons. Authorities believe this bust could provide crucial leads to disrupt larger interstate arms smuggling networks operating in the region.
