After a gap of a few months, the Commissionerate Police on Wednesday embarked on its Operation Black Smoke against firearm trade and criminal gangs and arrested three gun smugglers at Nandan Vihar under the Infocity police station.
The accused were identified as Sarada Moharana, Shankar Moharana, and Shalu Dehury. They all were arrested while planning to commit loot.
Two stolen guns and two rounds ammunition, which are expected to have been sourced from Bihar, were seized from their possession.
“Our Quick Action team had prior information about the accused dealing with and possessing firearms. We had the information that a gang which deals in illegal arms was planning to commit robbery in Nandan Vihar area. During raid, they were caught,” said Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissioner of Police RP Sharma.
The raid was a part of the Operation Black Smoke launched last year by the Commissionerate Police against arms dealers in the twin city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The Commissioner of Police said the operation would be intensified in the coming days.
According to preliminary investigation, a person from Bihar was supplying illegal arms through his friend in Bhubaneswar, who managed to escape. Sharma informed that nearly 70 illegal guns were seized this year under Operation Black Smoke while raids are being conducted across the twin city on regular basis.