Police are in the midst of identifying "a certain group of people" behind the smuggling of firearms into the country.

This follows the seizure of a large cache of firearms in the country over the past two weeks,     Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

Khalid said police viewed the matter seriously, especially in light of the recent spate of shooting cases.

"In this regard, intelligence is being stepped up while security has been tightened at smuggling haunts," he told reporters after a media conference on the 2013 Warriors' Day celebration in Putrajaya.

"We are closing in on a certain group of people. We are doing that right now. We are also identifying people who are responsible in bringing in guns into the country," he said.

Khalid said the police did not rule out the possibility of the firearms coming from a neighbouring country.

Three arrested in Kota Bahru

In Kota Bahru last night, police detained three men in connection with the seizure of two pistols and eight sharp weapons in three raids in the state capital and in and Pasir

Mas.

Kelantan police deputy chief Mazlan Lazim said in the first raid at 11pm, a 29-year-old suspect was picked up at a petrol station on Jalan Baung in Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bahru.

"Upon questioning, the police seized a samurai sword, two machetes and a foldable knife hidden in a bag behind the driver's seat of a car," he said at a media conference in Kota Bahru today.

Mazlan said the suspect led the police to another man, aged 21, in Kampung Baung,

Pengkalan Chepa where a pistol loaded with five bullets, machete and a knife were seized.

In a separate case in Pasir Mas, Mazlan said the police nabbed a 49-year-old man at foodstall and seized an imitation gun and an empty magazine.

- Bernama