Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Monday arrested an alleged member of an interstate arms smuggling syndicate and recovered three illegal .32-bore pistols from his possession, officials said. The accused, identified as Durgesh Pandey alias Vishu, is a resident of Durga Ram Ka Purwa in Pratapgarh’s Sangramgarh area.STF teams arrested him from behind Sahara Bazaar near Wave Mall in the Vibhuti Khand area after tracking him based on specific intelligence inputs. Officials said a bag containing the firearms was seized during the operation.According to STF, information gathered over the past few days suggested an active network procuring and supplying illegal weapons across Uttar Pradesh. A team conducted surveillance in Lucknow and later received a tip-off that a man would be arriving in the city to sell firearms. Acting on the lead, the team intercepted and detained Pandey.During preliminary interrogation, Pandey allegedly told investigators that he was linked to a wider syndicate that sourced pistols from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and distributed them in multiple districts of Uttar Pradesh.Police said the gang allegedly bought illegal pistols for around ₹30,000 to ₹40,000 each and sold them in districts including Lucknow, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur for ₹80,000 to ₹1 lakh.A case has been registered at Vibhuti Khand police station under relevant sections of the Arms Act, and the accused was handed over to local police.
