PESHAWAR, March 3: The Crime Investigation Department on Tuesday seized an arms cache being smuggled from tribal area. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday at the CID headquarters , SP Sajjad Afzal said his department had been tipped off about arms smuggling attempts from Darra Adamkhel to Peshawar.
The Tuesday haul was the second biggest seizure in the past three days as the city police on Monday also foiled an attempt to smuggle a big cache of arms at Pishtakhara police checkpoint.
Giving details he said that a CID team had erected barricade near Darwazgai area in Matani on Kohat road and on suspicion stopped a tractor-trolley filled with sand. "The accused had placed the weapons in secret cavities of the trolley and filled it with sand," Mr Afzal said.
During the search the CID seized 35 kalashnikovs, 28 riffles of different calibres, 61 pistols, 73 shotguns, 79 magazines of various bore, 10,059 rounds of 30-bore and other parts of sophisticated weapons.
"I cannot rule out the possibility of using these weapons for terrorism," he said and added that the situation would be clear after the remand of the accused, Sahib Shah, a resident of Mardan.
"We have got details of the distribution of these arms among the people in Peshawar and other parts of the country and we will certainly broaden the scope of investigation," he said.
On Monday, the city police had seized rifles being smuggled in a pick-up van from Bara in Khyber Agency to Peshawar and arrested the driver near Pishtakhara police station, official sources told Dawn.
Some two dozen rifles including Kalashnikovs were seized from the van (Peshawar-L 4116), the sources said. The smuggler was possibly bringing the riffles to Peshawar for subversive activities during the Ashura processions, they added. A case had been registered against the driver of the van, Akbar Ali, a resident of Pishtakhara Payan.
SECURITY ALERT: The Frontier Corps was called out on Tuesday to provide security to the Ashura processions in the provincial capital after the snipper shootings of the mourners in Quetta.
The FC personnel were also positioned on the rooftops of all the main routes of Zuljinah procession. The processions were taken out in the city amid tight security to pay homage to Imam Hussain (RA).
The processions emerged from all the main and small imambargahs of Peshawar and passed through many roads. Along the procession routes, police had established pickets and were alert on rooftops along with the FC personnel, besides escorting the mourners.
Large contingents of the Frontier Constabulary, police, civil defence and scouts were deployed at all the imambargahs and mosques in the city. The health department ambulances were also providing treatment to mourners. All sensitive areas in Peshawar, particularly Kohati Gate and Qissa Khwani Bazaar, were sealed to ensure smooth passage to the processions.