543 landmines recovered in Kolkata

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Kolkata: A huge cache of highly sophisticated landmines and bullets was recovered in Kolkata on Thursday in an operation carried out jointly by the Army Intelligence, CID and the Intelligence Branch.

Three persons, including an Army jawan, were arrested. Search and seizure operations are continuing across West Bengal.

It's being called one of the biggest seizures of arms from any metro city in recent times. Five hundred and forty three highly sophisticated landmines and more than 1,000 bullets of four different kinds were all seized from a house in Southwest Kolkata.

What's shocking is that the cache came straight from the Ichhapur ordinance factory and was meant for Naxalites and other terror groups.

The Catch includes 543 anti-personnel mines and 1,000 bullets.

Says Army spokesperson Wing Commander R K Das, "Anti personnel mines are used mostly by the Naxalites."

Of the three arrested, one is a jawan, who was transferred to Kolkata from Kashmir two months ago.

What's more, this isn't the first time such a security breach has been reported.

"In the last six months, a large number of such hauls have been conducted by the Army Intelligence Unit," says Wing Commander Das

The Army says this is just a part of a huge racket. Search and seizure operations continue across the state, and more arrests and recoveries are likely soon.

(With inputs from Meetu Jain in New Delhi)