Initial investigations suggested that the weapons were being smuggled for terrorist activities elsewhere in the country. “The smugglers have no links with Harkatul Mujahideen al-Alami,” Assistant Inspector-General of CID, NWFP, Abdul Majeed Khan Marwat told Dawn.
“We are sure that the smugglers were planning to hand over the arms to terrorists, but we will continue to investigate the matter to ascertain if the recipients of these illicit arms were in Punjab,” the AIG maintained.
He said that the raid was made after he received information that some arms smugglers would try to smuggle a heavy consignment of arms and ammunition to Punjab from Bara, Khyber Agency, via unfrequented routes.
The AIG said that all routes entering into the settled area from Bara were monitored. The smugglers sensed the danger and tried to evade the pickets laid along the routes and managed to reach the GT Road. However, he said, vigilant CID personnel gave them a hot chase.
The car, along with the accused and the weapons haul, was finally apprehended on the main Peshawar-Rawalpindi Road near Cloth Market, Nowshera.
A thorough search of the vehicle yielded a large amount of arms and ammunition hidden in secret cavities of the vehicle.
The weapons included 10 Kalashnikovs, two Kalakovs, an LMG, three 8mm rifles and 1,100 rounds of different bore.
The CID arrested Javed Khan, son of Iqbal Khan, and Munawar Shah, son of Mukaram Shah, residents of Badhber, and impounded Toyota car (LHF-4830) used in the incident.
HASHISH SEIZED: The city police have seized 160 kgs of hashish from a vehicle bearing fake government number plate on the Hospital Road in the jurisdiction of the Kabuli Police Station here on Wednesday.
Sources said that the accused tried to flee after the police team signalled the car to stop for a routine check. The persons riding the car escaped on foot in the densely-populated area of the city after abandoning the car. Police searched the vehicle and recovered the hashish.