Berhampur (Odisha), May 13 (PTI) Continuing its drive against possession of illegal firearms in Ganjam district, Odisha police on Tuesday arrested 20 more people and seized eight country-made pistols, 31 rounds of ammunition, and 12 magazines in four police station limits.

A car, three motorbikes and 14 mobile phones have also been seized from the possession of the accused persons, police said.

Also Read | India-Pakistan Tension: Pak Says Committed to Stand by Ceasefire Arrangement; Criticises PM Narendra Modi's Remarks.

With these, police have seized a total of 25 firearms and 97 rounds of ammunition in the last one week in the district during a special drive launched to crack down on illegal arms, said Niti Sekhar, Inspector General of Police (IGP), southern range.

A total of 37 people, most of them history-sheeters, were arrested in a week, said the IGP said.

Also Read | 3-Nanometer Chip Design Centres Inaugurated: In a First, 3-nm Chips Will Be Designed in India, Announces Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

While four firearms were seized and eight people arrested in Kotinada police station area, five were picked up and two firearms seized in Hinjili police limits.

Aska and Polasara police have seized one country-made pistol each and arrested five and two persons, respectively, the police officer said.

On May 4, in overnight raids in six police station areas, police seized 17 illegal firearms and 66 rounds of ammunition and arrested 18 people in the special drive.

“During the preliminary investigation, we found out the sources of the illegal firearms from outside the states, especially in Munger in Bihar. We will form a special team to find out the exact sources of the illegal arms,” said SP (Ganjam) Subhendu Kumar Patra.

The drive to crack down on illegal firearms would continue in the district, the SP said.

Raids are being conducted to prevent the possibility of organised crimes, police said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)