November 14, 2024: In a major breakthrough, a joint team of Kolkata and Bihar police unearthed a large-scale illegal firearm manufacturing operation being run under the cover of a food plate manufacturing business in Munger district, Bihar. The factory, operating from the basement of a residential property, was discovered during a raid carried out by the Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police, Bihar Police, and local officers from Tarapur Police Station.

The operation led to the arrest of Mohammad Monazir Hussain, a 27-year-old man from Munger, and his 38-year-old brother-in-law, Mohammad Nasim. They were apprehended after security personnel discovered a secret underground chamber on Hussain’s property where the firearms were being illicitly produced. Hussain's associate, Irshad Mallick, remains at large, and authorities are actively searching for him.

During the raid, law enforcement seized a range of illegal weaponry, including six 7 mm pistol bodies and corresponding pistol butts. The equipment found on the premises included a lathe machine, milling machine, drilling tools, grinding and polishing devices, and various raw materials crucial for firearm production. These findings confirm that the operation was a well-equipped, large-scale arms manufacturing unit.

The authorities believe that Hussain and Nasim, with the help of Mallick, were involved in producing and possibly distributing firearms in the region. The factory had been cleverly disguised as a business producing food plates, but upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the underground facility had been used for creating dangerous weapons.

This marks the 14th bust of an illegal arms manufacturing unit in Bihar and neighboring Jharkhand in the past three years, highlighting the growing concern over underground firearm production in the region. Authorities are now investigating potential links to larger criminal networks operating in the area.

This bust comes less than a year after another arms factory was discovered in Bihar, which was operating under the cover of a furniture shop in Gaya. The illegal arms trade continues to be a major issue in the region, with authorities intensifying efforts to track down and dismantle such operations.

A formal case has been filed at the Tarapur Police Station, and further investigations are underway as police work to uncover the full extent of the operation and its potential connections to organized crime.