Police made a breakthrough in the sale of AK-47 semi-automatic rifles smuggled from the Jabalpur-based Central Ordnance Depot (COD) following the arrest of one of the prime accused, Manjar Alam, from the state capital on Tuesday. A country-made pistol and six live cartridges were seized from his possession.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team attached to Buddha Colony police station in Patna conducted a raid at a private lodge and took Manjar into custody. Police said Manjar, a resident of Bardhe village in Munger district, was staying in the lodge by furnishing a fake identity.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj said Manjar was hiding in Patna against fake credentials ever since his name cropped up in the AK-47 arms deal case. “He is considered an important catch in arms smuggling,” he told The Telegraph.

Manjar used to provide smuggled AK-47s to criminal gangs and Maoists operating in Gaya and Aurangabad in Bihar and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. Munger acting superintendent of police Babu Ram said Manjar had strong connections with arms suppliers in Bihar and Jharkhand. “A police team has already reached Patna to take Manjar on remand for interrogation in the arms deal case. Munger police left for Patna as soon as the message about his arrest was conveyed to us,” the SP said, adding that Manjar has made huge investments in coal mines through his relative, Monazir.

Monazir was arrested from Jharkhand. “Manjar has amassed huge wealth through illegal arms smuggling. We are already working on this,” the Munger said told this newspaper over phone.

Manjar was active in the illegal arms racket since 2001. Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj said Manjar had confessed to being arrested at least four times earlier. Manjar, who is in his 50s, revealed to the police that he was earlier arrested from Jakkanpur police station area in Patna in 2014. Earlier, Manjar was arrested with his relative, Sarfaraz, in New Delhi for selling AK-47 rifles in 2017.

But he managed to dodge the officers of the Delhi police’s special cell by claiming that the seized weapons were not original ones and were made in Munger.

The Munger SP said the NIA had not contacted the district police till date.