The police on Tuesday busted an illegal firearm manufacturing unit that operated from a residential area near Pallikkathodu and arrested four persons in this connection.
Acting on a tip-off, a team led by J. Santhosh Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kanjirappally, raided the unit and seized different parts used for making country-made guns on Monday midnight.
During the raid that lasted till Tuesday morning, the police seized various parts of a rifle, besides iron rods, wooden buts and grinders, that were used to make the firearm.
The arrested have been identified as Mahesh Kumar, 43, his brother Rajan G., 50, Binesh Kumar K., 34, all from Anickad and Ratheesh Chandran, 38, from Thiruvananthapuram and staying at Vattolikkal house, Lakkattoor.
Tip-off
The police received information about the unit when some people from the unit approached a welding workshop with a request to assemble a rifle.
Among the four arrested, two landed in police custody during the raid while the remaining arrests were made based on their statements.
Blacksmiths
Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had supplied rifles and revolvers to at least 15 people over the past few years.
“The accused are traditional blacksmiths and their customer base appears to be very local. However, a detailed verification is required to ascertain if they had supplied arms to any organised groups,” the Dy.SP said.
The racket used to sell rifles at a price range of ₹10,000-₹15,000 while the revolvers were priced above ₹15,000.
Verification of bullets
Meanwhile, the police will conduct an expert verification of the bullets seized to ascertain whether they are functional or not.
A case has been registered against the four under the Arms Act.
