QUETTA: Police recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition and arrested three suspects here on Wednesday.

Addressing a news conference, Capital City Police Officer Abdul Razzaque Cheema said a raid was conducted at an under-construction house on Al Gilani road after receiving intelligence about the weapons. The arms and ammunition were dumped in a water tank, he added.

He said police seized 110 LMGs, 10 Kalashnikovs, five RPGs, 100 high explosive tubes, 500 detonators, 50 bundles of prima cards, hundreds of fuses, circuits and other material used for making improvised explosive devices, 200kg of explosives, 800 hand-grenades, 500 KK IEDs, 100 RPG rounds and thousands of bullets worth Rs80 million.

When asked if the house from where the arms and ammunition were seized was owned by a tribal political figure, Mr Cheema did not comment, but said no influential person would be spared if found involved in anti-peace activities or possessing illegal weapons.

In reply to a question, the officer admitted that illegal arms and ammunition had been smuggled to Quetta, but said the “law-enforcement agencies — Frontier Corps, police and Levies Force — were trying to stop this”.

He said 255 police officials and other law-enforcement personnel who acted bravely against terrorists and criminals had been awarded cash and certificates.

Mr Cheema said seven suspects, who had been arrested in connection with the Kuchlak bomb blast, were being interrogated. Three had been awarded a three-year imprisonment, he added.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2014