Panchmahal cops unearth Rs 1L worth of illegal firearms

Vadodara: In one of the biggest hauls in recent times, Panchmahal police seized a huge stash of country-made firearms including 13 guns and ammunition at a check post early on Wednesday morning.
According to police, these illegal weapons were thrown away by two accused after they spotted police checking vehicles at the check post erected at Sant Road to check vehicles arriving from Dahod and Godhra.Early on Wednesday morning, two persons riding a motorcycle without a registration plate were spotted coming towards the check post.
However, no sooner they saw cops on the road, the duo alighted from their bike, dropped the two bags on the spot and escaped towards the railway line near the highway on foot. Cops tried to trace the duo, but they disappeared in the darkness.
On searching the two bags, police found seven country-made pistols, seven magazines, three ‘tamanchas’, three country-made rifles, 55 9mm cartridges and five 7.62mm cartridges. The total value of the seizure is estimated to be Rs 1.28 lakh.
An offence regarding the seizure was registered at the Morva Hadaf police station. Sources said that the country-made firearms may have been smuggled into the state from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. In the past small such seizures have been made, but the present stash is the biggest so far.
The police has gathered CCTV footages from toll booths in the area as well as other places to trace the route that the duo may have followed. They were spotted in the footage of a CCTV at a toll booth.