MUMBAI, October 5: Even as the police are making successful hits with gangsters getting eliminated in encounters, the underworld in the city remains flush with sophisticated weapons and weapons continue to flow unchecked to arm new recruits.According to police sources, various gangs in the city possess between them nearly 200 AK-47 assault rifles, 600-odd hand grenades, three tonnes of RDX, besides a huge stockpile of small firearms. A considerable part of this stock is part of the consignment which is feared to have been smuggled into the country before the serial bomb blasts in 1993.There is an alarming rise in arms recovered after encounters with gangsters and during raids on their hideouts - a good indicator of the ammunition stock. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) K L Prasad admitted to Express Newsline that raids on hideouts yielded 134 firearms in 1996. This year so far the figure has touched 177, including four AK-47 rifles, mostly of foreign make. Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Ranjit Singh Sharma too admitted that there is a sharp rise in seizure of illegal arms.A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, told that it is nearly impossible to the stop the flow of firearms through the porous national borders and reach the city.According to police sources, two terrorists groups, Pakistan's ISI and Sri Lanka's LTTE are the main suppliers of arms. ISI's supplies are routed through Rajasthan and Gujarat borders. They are landed along the Gujarat coast and the Rajasthan border. The consignment includes Chinese Star pistols (Tokarev version), Pak-made Star pistols, AK-45 rifles, German Mausers and Kalashnikovs. The gun-runners are the Pathan mafia of Gujarat, including members like Abdul Latif and Pappu Khan (now in Sabarmati jail).The LTTE's weapons are smuggled through the southern state of Tamil Nadu. They include Austrian Glock and Lama pistols, Uzi sub-machine guns, arms which had become hallmark of the Amar Naik gang.``Firearms are also smuggled from Nepal. A gun-runner makes between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per every Chinese Star pistol sold to the underworld for around Rs 45,000. A sten gun sells for around Rs 1 lakh. Most of the weapons are smuggled by bus and trains into the city,'' says a police sharpshooter, who did not want to be named.``Arms are up for sale for any gang which can pay or swap it for drugs,'' said the officer, ``LTTE sends arms for Mumbai's underworld from across Burma's borders using Assam's ULFA militants,'' he added.However, Sharma asserts, ``All the entry points have been kept under strict vigil. However, the police cannot check each and everyone entering the city.''
