GUJRANWALA, Jan 27: The range police claim to have arrested 19 proclaimed offenders from their hideouts in Chenab Bela during a four-hour operation and recovered a huge quantity of illegal arms and looted goods from them on Monday.

Talking to newsmen, DIG Malik Muhammad Iqbal said that police force of Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, Narowal, Hafizabad, and police commandos and Elite Force also took part in the operation.

He said the operation was being conducted on the directives of Punjab IGP Syed Masood Shah.

The arrested POs were identified as Nazim Hussain, Ghulam Muhammad, Azher Iqbal, Muhammad Ilyas, Shamraiz, Imran Khan, Nazir Khan, Altaf, Basharat Hussain, Muzafar Hussain, Muhammad Asghar, Muhammad Azam, Khizer Hayat, Sabir Hussain, Asim Shah, Amir Hussain, Safder Hussain, Nazir Ahmad and Chand.

Police also recovered 13 guns of 12 bore, 57 pistols, 19 revolvers, five rifles, three pump action guns, 500 cartridges besides heroin, hashish, liquor and looted goods from their possession, he added.

CAUGHT: Around half a dozen electricity thieves, including three industrialists, were caught red-handed on Monday by a raiding team of Gepco, Model Town sub-division.

The raiding team issued detection bills of Rs80,000 and Rs96,000 to two factory owners, Shafiq and Rafiq of Zahid Colony, respectively.

The raiding team also issued a detection bill and registered a case against Khalid of Faisalabad for tampering with the metre.