Kochi Customs seizes Airguns

[Sujay]

Some reports say 87, some put the figures at 300. They are spring and gas powered, makes of Diana and Walther.

The bad news is that police is interpreting it as consignment for training the terrorists as a copy of Quaran was found amongst the consignment.

http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?pa ... ding=India

http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/10/stories ... 830100.htm

[kanwar76]

Firearms were found concealed amid the furniture. Guns bore the markings Walther and Diana and are believed to be lethal at a firing distance of one kilometre

LMAO


These guys make mountain out of a mole. All you know some dealer tried to make some fast buck via this route. Somebody need to tell these morons the current state of air guns availability in INDIA and how much premium they command.

-Inder

[Sujay]

That is old ignorance but first I want to catch hold of the blighter who forgot his Quaran in this consignment

I am particularly worried as this is going to give bright ideas to out of work theorists with the usual suggestions/repurcussions. Imagine ...CBI has been called in

[kanwar76]

Now the big question is when and where are they going to auction it ..

-Inder

[mehulkamdar]

A far more dangerous development on the same day was the Supreme Court asking a defendant why he needed a gun and a "huge" quantity of ammunition for it. Evidently, the gun and the ammunition were bought under license though the defendant, a CEntral Indian politician was involved in assault etc like many others in that part of India seem perpetually to be.

While I agree that he needs to have the book thrown at him for the assault cases, I find it interesting that the highest court in India would ask someone why he needs to have a gun and ammunition that he holds under license?

Inder

This is OT but several police officers especially in TN have "trophy" guns that they just took from the LTTE whom Indira GAndhi trained and her son declared illegal. I am certain that the discrepancy in the number of air rifles - 300 and 87 - reflects something similar. Several of the air rifles must have found good homes in the Central Government staff quarters.

[HSharief]

Inder, you beat me to it. I was wondering the same. After all the dust settles, and they realize that these can be sold without much hassle, they'll certainly auction it and shooters should be on the lookout lest they land in "collectors" show cases.

[mehulkamdar]

Speaking of customs sales - the auctions are for cars, heavy machinery etc - they are regularly advertised in the newspapers and sold to the public. You need to turn up with an Income Tax PAN card and either cash or a credit card and wait in a queue to go into the customs' offices and buy what is on sale. I have visited the Chennai customs on several sales and they mostly had jewelry, electronic gadgets, assorted watches, home appliances, sporting goods like imported roller skates, cricket bats etc. Prices are usually cheap to extremely cheap for everything sold, hence the long queues.

I doubt that the Kochi customs would have a very different procedure to dispose of the airguns if they decide to do that and not to send them to some military school like the one at Amaravati or elsewhere. This could be an opportunity for our Kerala members to keep checking the Kochi customs website for sale information.