NIA, ATS sleuths raid 6 Nalanda locations in arms racket probe

Biharsharif: Around 100 strong team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Bihar Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday conducted raids at six different locations in Nalanda district as part of an ongoing probe into an interstate illegal arms trafficking network linked to arrested smuggler Perwez Alam.Perwez, a resident of Barahdari locality under Biharsharif Town police station area, was arrested on Dec 4, 2025, along with four others, during a joint operation by Nalanda police and the STF.One of the key searches was carried out at P K Gun House & Sons, located near Post Office More under Laheri police station area in Biharsharif. Officials remained there for more than seven hours, scrutinising documents and verifying records related to licensed firearms and ammunition.The proprietor of the shop, Ram Pravesh Kumar, said teams from the NIA and ATS examined the shop’s registers and stock. Some documents were seized and a seizure list was provided to the owner. Kumar said the gun shop has been operating since 1995. His brother Mukesh Verma, who runs a jewellery business, also confirmed the search.No FIR was lodged in connection with the raids.On Dec 4, along with Perwez, Saurabh Kumar Jha of Munger and three smugglers from Jamshedpur, including Jiyar Jai, Mohammad Mehboob alias Tinku and Zahid Hussain, were arrested. The arrests were made from a rented flat in Sohankuan locality under Laheri police station, which investigators said was being used as a base for illegal arms trade.During the operation, police had recovered a large cache of ammunition and weapons, including 153 rounds of AK-47 cartridges, several other bullets of different firearms, China-made pistols, magazines, nine mobile phones, Rs24,000 in cash and an SUV allegedly used for transporting the weapons. Investigators suspect the gang was involved in supplying illegal arms across Bihar and Jharkhand.Apart from Biharsharif town, the team also carried out searches at Mirzapur village under Chiksaura police station area and Ram Murti Nagar in Hilsa, both linked to Satyendra Prasad, whose name has surfaced in connection with illegal arms trade. Locals said Prasad is currently lodged in a jail in an Arms Act case.Searches were also conducted in two neighbouring villages. In Mahadev Bigha, the team searched the house of Sonu Kumar, son of Vasudev Yadav, around 5am. Sonu said the officers minutely searched the house, following inputs about the presence of weapons. Although nothing illegal was recovered, investigators seized a mobile phone for further examination.Another raid took place in nearby Balmat Bigha village at the residence of Ramswarth Prasad. The house was surrounded early in the morning while the family members were asleep. The search lasted nearly four hours, after which officers seized another mobile phone but did not recover any illegal arms or ammunition. One of Ramswarth Prasad’s sons is reportedly employed in the police department.In Dec, NIA teams had conducted searches at the residence of arrested smuggler Perwez in Barahdari locality and at the house of Rajendra Yadav in Bhagan Bigha outpost area, though nothing incriminating was recovered.On June 23, 2025, while cracking down on illegal ammunition trafficking, Nalanda police and the STF had seized 717 live cartridges of different calibres from a rented house in Asha Nagar under Sohsarai police station. In the same operation, 117 bullets were recovered from a house in Bhagan Bigha, and Rajendra Yadav, father of accused Abhijeet Kumar alias Robin Yadav, was arrested.Officials said the documents and electronic devices seized during Monday’s searches are being analysed to identify the larger network of suppliers, middlemen and buyers involved in illegal arms trafficking in the region.