Belgaum: Illegal Weapons Racket Busted, 22 Nabbed

Belgaum, Sep 30 (PTI): At least 22 people, including an alleged notorious drug trafficker, were arrested today with 51 country-made pistols and 77 live rounds seized from them, a top police official said. 
 
All the 22 were involved in the racket for the last four years and were nabbed by a special squad set up earlier this year in the wake of rise in crimes, including murders, in the range, IGP Northern Range N Shivkumar told reporters here.

Admitting lapse on part of the police to curb such activities earlier, he said three recent murders in Indi taluk in Bijapur set the squad on its toes leading to the unearthing of the racket and the arrests, including that of drug trafficker Akash Balachandra Desai. "The pistols bought from other states, including Bihar and Maharashtra, were traded in Karnataka", Shivkumar said.

Police officials in the North Karnataka division have been directed to keep a close vigil on such criminal activities, he said.