Jharsuguda: The Jharsuguda police have busted an organised illegal arms syndicate operating in the Brajarajnagar municipal area and arrested two persons allegedly involved in the purchase and distribution of firearms, informed Jharsuguda SP Gundala Reddy Raghavendra during a press conference today.

The crackdown was carried out jointly by the Brajarajnagar and Orient police based on reliable intelligence inputs. The arrested accused have been identified as Adarsh Dubey alias Bittu (32) of Ganganagar under Brajarajnagar police limits and MD Rafik Ansari (27) of Mahabirnagar under Orient police limits.

Police said the accused had allegedly procured the firearms from Bihar. During the operation, police seized four pistols, eight rounds of live ammunition, a motorcycle and a mobile phone from their possession.

According to the SP, Dubey has eight criminal cases pending against him, while Ansari is involved in five previous cases. Preliminary investigation revealed that the duo was allegedly planning to commit serious crimes in the area over a previous enmity.

The operation was conducted as part of the Jharsuguda district police’s crime control initiative ‘Operation Netra’. Four platoons of police force were engaged in raids at multiple locations last night, leading to the seizure of illegal arms.

Both the accused have been forwarded to court after the registration of the case.