9 arms, wood smugglers held in Rajasthan

Nine suspected arms and wood smugglers were arrested in two separate operations in Bharatpur and Udaipur districts of Rajsathan, police said Saturday.

Roop Singh (45), Pradeep Singh (21) and Govind Singh (19) were nabbed from the Uncha Nagla area in Bharatpur following a tip-off Friday, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police said in a statement.

It said nine firearms along with 20 live cartridges were seized from their possession.

On their information, another arms smuggler, identified as Mukhtyar, was arrested in Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, said the statement.

"The four are being interrogated to ascertain the source of the illegal arms," the SOG said.

In another operation, the SOG arrested five men and recovered 15 tonnes of expensive banned wood being transported illegally in Udaipur district, the statement said.

The seized wood, 'Khair', which is banned for sale and purchase, was illegally cut from the forest area in Udaipur and was being smuggled to Madhya Pradesh, it said.