An ex-havildar of the Indian Army has been arrested for last month’s arms heist at 20 Madras Regiment at Bolarum in Secunderabad Cantonment, the police have said – a development that comes hours after investigators claimed to have traced the weapons to a location in Hyderabad.

At a press conference on Friday, Director General of Police C V Anand said that the ex-havildar, who the police have not yet named, broke open the locks of the armoury at 20 Madras Regiment at Bolarum in Secunderabad Cantonment and stole 12 weapons and ammunition, including four AK-203 assault rifles, seven pistols and an INSAS rifle.

Anand said that the suspect had been dismissed from service on June 30, and that the heist was an act of revenge against his commanding officer.

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Originally from Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district, the suspect is now believed to live with his family on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The police said the ex-Armyman entered the premises twice on the night of August 31 by telling the guard that he was from the regiment, and used a scooter to take out the weapons and ammunition.

Three others are also in custody in connection with the theft, the DGP said, adding that the stolen weapons have been recovered.

According to the police, the suspect first broke open the armoury lock and took out 12 weapons, hiding them in the thick foliage outside. When he tried to enter the second time, however, a guard allegedly asked him to identify himself, and he claimed he was from the regiment.

“It was the theft of AKs and INSAS that raised suspicion that it could have been an inside job,” the DGP said.

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According to investigators, the suspect rode home with the arms on a scooter, transferred the cache to his car and headed to Achampet, avoiding the main roads to evade capture.

“After questioning over 70 persons and finding no clue, we turned our attention to recently retired people and narrowed down on the suspect. We confronted him with technical evidence — including his phone location and CCTV images, and he finally confessed,” the DGP said.

Officials said the suspect tried to bury the cache at various places to avoid being tracked. The DGP said that officials from Military Intelligence and other agencies helped police crack the case. He said that the case is still under investigation.

The theft was discovered on August 31 during an inventory, and Army officers lodged a police complaint on September 1. The police registered a case of trespass or house-breaking by night to commit an offence and theft in a building used for custody of property or government property.

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The theft occurred at a time when the battalion — including its commanding officer — was at Pokhran in Rajasthan for field exercises.