Special Branch seizes firearms, arrests one

The Mumbai Police's Special Branch (SB) on Monday seized seven firearms and arrested a man for allegedly smuggling the weapons into the city from Bihar. The officers claimed the operation was significant as the weapons had been seized just a few days before the civic polls in the city.

According to the SB, the weapons courier has claimed that he was earlier an employee of a leading private bank in the city. This is the first time that the SB has seized firearms on its own, officers said. Six revolvers and a pistol, along with 12 live rounds, were seized by the police.

"This is the first case in which the SB has seized weapons and the operation was carried out by a special cell we have prepared. It is important as the weapons were seized just before the civic elections. A woman sub-inspector received information that a man of Bangladeshi nationality would be coming to the city to deliver firearms. Finally, this morning, we received a tip-off that the man would be arriving near Kurla railway station," said Additional Commissioner of Police (SB) Sunil Paraskar.

Acting on the information, SB officers laid a trap and arrested Javed Alam Mustafa Shabir alias Guddu (36). "Shabir was carrying a bag from which six revolvers and a pistol, carrying the stamp 'made in USA', were seized. We believe these firearms were factory-made in UP or Bihar," said Paraskar.

"Shabir has a voter ID card with a Patna address and driving license with a Mumbai address. Preliminary enquiries have revealed that his residence is on Bhulabhai Desai Road in Mahalaxmi. He is 12th pass and used to work in a leading private bank till six months ago, earning around Rs 15,000 per month. The accused also claimed that he quit his job and went to Patna because of a family dispute," Paraskar added.

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