Hyderabad: A covert arms racket operating out of a hair salon in Balapur was busted on Thursday, with police arresting two men and recovering five country-made firearms and a cache of live ammunition.
The Special Operations Team (SOT) of Maheshwaram Zone, working with Balapur Police, arrested Mohammed Zeeshan alias Zeekhan (28) and Mohammed Ameer alias Raja (24), both hailing from Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators revealed that Zeeshan, who had moved to Hyderabad in 2016, owned three salons across Rakshapuram, Golconda, and Balapur. Behind the scenes, however, he was allegedly moonlighting as an arms dealer, sourcing crude tapanchas through contacts in his hometown.
Police said the accused intended to supply the weapons to criminal elements in the city. Ameer, a close aide, helped Zeeshan procure the firearms via an associate named Arshi Khan based in Rampur.
Their operation unravelled early on 29 May, when the SOT team, acting on a tip-off, intercepted the duo in Royal Colony, Balapur. The men were reportedly on their way to stash the weapons at one of Zeeshan’s salons when they were caught red-handed.
Officers recovered five country-made pistols, thirteen 8mm live rounds, five 12-gauge shotgun shells, and two mobile phones from their possession.
The pair were booked under Cr. No. 220/2025 and charged under sections of the Arms Act. They were produced before the court and sent to judicial custody.
The bust was made under the supervision of Rachakonda Commissioner G. Sudheer Babu, with DCP Sunitha Reddy, Addl. DCP Md. Shakir Hussain and the SOT and Balapur police teams leading the crackdown.
