NOWSHERA, Sept 23: The district Nowshera police arrested nine persons, including four policemen, who were trying to smuggle arms and narcotics to Punjab.

The police officials were identified as a sub-inspector of police station Gujrat B-division, Muhammad Khan; an ASI, Muhammad Afzal; and two cops, Ahsanullah and Muhammad Shehbaz. Their arrested companions are Muhammad Iqbal, Asad Mahmood, Muhammad Akram, Naeem, and Riaz Ahmad.

The officials of Akora Khattak police claimed that the accused were in a Hiace van bearing registration No LXK 9640 when they were confronted and following items were seized: 166 pistols, 8 Kalashnikov rifles, 3 guns, 1,800 cartridges and one kilogram of charas.

The SP, Nowshera, Feroze Shah, told Dawn that they had acted on a tip-off that some people were trying to smuggle arms from Dara Adamkhel, a tribal area in the south of the provincial capital Peshawar, to Gujrat, allegedly for use for terrorist activities during the forthcoming polls.