KENINGAU: Police seized 42 air rifles and 456 small boxes of ammunition and arrested a local man suspected of selling the firearms without valid documents or permits in Kampung Sook, here, on Sunday night.
The 50-year-old suspect, an oil palm smallholder, was arrested in an operation by the D9 team of the Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the District Police Headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Division.
District Police Chief Supt Erwansyah Abdul Basir said an inspection at a storeroom uncovered 42 air rifles of various brands, five camouflage-patterned gun bags and 11 large boxes containing 456 small boxes of ammunition.
The suspect was arrested after failing to produce valid documents or permits for the possession of the air rifles and all the items were seized for further investigation.
Erwansyah said preliminary investigations showed the suspect was believed to have been selling air rifles and ammunition to buyers in the district for profit.
“The suspect claimed to have obtained the supplies through online transactions with a man known as Amir, an Indonesian national, who had been introduced to him by another man known as Ikon, also an Indonesian national,” he said.
The supplies were believed to have been transported by river from Mansalong before being brought by road from Pagalungan to the suspect’s house, where they were stored in the storeroom.
The case is being investigated under Section 7(1) of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971.
Police are continuing their investigations to trace Amir and Ikon, identify the buyers and examine communications and transactions believed to be linked to the purchase and sale of the air rifles and ammunition.
Police will also seek expert examinations of the seized air rifles and ammunition, as well as verify the status of licences or permits relating to their possession and sale.