By IANS,
Islamabad : Suspicious luggage containing bulletproof jackets and weapons allegedly belonging to the US embassy was seized by police here, a media report said.
Islamabad police Saturday intercepted at the Zero Point picket here a suspicious vehicle which was found to be carrying cargo comprising M-16 rifles and magazines; 9 mm pistols and magazines, several pistol pouches, compasses, radio sets, maps, knives, and other army articles, The Nation quoted sources as saying.
The two carriers — identified as Noushad and Lal Badshah — were arrested and during questioning disclosed that they were transporting these weapons to the US embassy, the paper said quoting sources close to the investigation.
The accused told the police that they had nothing to do with the weapons. “The US embassy has just hired our services to transport this luggage,” the police quoted them as saying.
The newspaper report also said that a number of officials of the US embassy tried hard to secure the release of the weapons but the police refused to oblige.
According to the report, the consignment was meant for one Gustovo Ritschl of the US army. However, the accused did not have any permission from the US embassy authorities.
Police sources said they also recovered “hundreds of pouches” of different weapons besides body armour, CDs, cell phones and sunglasses.
The spokesman for the US embassy neither confirmed nor denied the incident, the report said.
The police have registered a case. This is the third FIR registered against US embassy personnel, the report said.