Delhi Police Recover 20 Firearms, Drugs and Gambling Cash; 74 Held Under Op Shastra

New Delhi: Rohini District Police apprehended 74 people, including four history-sheeters, during a special crime crackdown under Operation Shastra, recovering 20 illegal firearms, 6 button-actuated knives and a significant quantity of narcotics, police said on Monday. The operation was conducted from September 17 to 20, with a focus on illegal possession of arms, organised crime and street crime in Rohini district.

According to police, 16 teams comprising around 300 personnel carried out extensive patrolling, checking at vulnerable points, and verification of history-sheeters, proclaimed offenders and criminals released on bail. During the operation, 28 accused were arrested and two children in conflict with the law were apprehended in cases registered under the Arms Act. Police recovered 20 firearms, including 17 country-made pistols and three sophisticated pistols -- among them a Beretta -- along with 31 live cartridges and two empty cartridges. Six knives, a car, a Bolero Maxx, a scooty, a lock cutter, iron rods and ropes were also recovered.

Police said some of the arrested accused were allegedly linked to local gangs working for overseas gangs. Among the recoveries was a semi-automatic Beretta pistol, made in Italy, along with five live cartridges. In another major recovery, police seized 801 grams of heroin, 104 grams of morphine, 17 grams of cocaine, and 30 Buprenorphine 2mg and Naloxone 0.5mg sublingual tablets during the drive.

Five accused were arrested in cases under the NDPS Act, including an alleged source supplier of cocaine. Police also recovered ₹3,00,600 in cash, two cars, a scooty and a mobile phone in connection with the narcotics cases. One of the accused, identified as Anil alias Bhola, was allegedly a source and supplier of narcotic substances and had earlier been declared a proclaimed offender in an NDPS case, according to police.

Under the Excise Act, 10 cases were registered and 10 alleged bootleggers were arrested. Under the Gambling Act, 11 cases were registered and 27 accused were arrested, with ₹1,75,650 recovered as gambling stake money. Police further said six proclaimed offenders were arrested during the drive. An interstate matrimonial fraud call centre was also busted, while 1.20 lakh counterfeit cigarette sticks were recovered in another action.

The operation was conducted under the leadership of Rohini DCP Shashank Jaiswal and under the supervision of senior officers, police said. 

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