BHUBANESWAR: Police on Wednesday arrested five persons for their alleged involvement in illegal minerals trade as well as cattle smuggling.
The accused - Bhabani Prasad Mohanty (32), SK Rahemat Ali (28), MD Jakir (26), Deepak Kumar Sahoo (36) and Sangram Pradhan (29) - were apprehended from their four-wheeler at Cuttack-Khurda road in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Around five firearms, 15 rounds of live ammunition, a Tata Harrier SUV, Rs 84,000 cash and seven mobile phones were seized from them.
Police said all of them are natives of Khurda and Cuttack districts. The gang was involved in illegal trade of minerals like morrum, stones and sand as well cattle smuggling. They were active in Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and other districts of Odisha. The accused possessed illegal firearms to threaten anyone who obstructed them.
Speaking to mediapersons, Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said, “Bhabani, Rahemat and Sangram have criminal antecedents. Verification is underway to ascertain whether the remaining two accused were earlier booked in any case.”