PESHAWAR: Six people, including three US nationals, were detained Monday after police discovered a large cache of illegal arms from their vehicles.

According to police sources, the “suspicious cars” were stopped for a routine check at the Peshawar Motorway toll plaza when the weapons were discovered.

Police sources told Dawn.com that the weapons included 4 M4 assault rifles with 36 magazines and 4 pistols with 30 magazines.

US Consul General Mary Richard also reached the police station where the Americans were detained for questioning, urging officials to seize weapons but not to detain the foreigners.

The US Consul General however refused to give any comments on the arrests when approached by our reporter.

Reuters news agency reported a US embassy official as saying: “These officials were returning from a visit to Malakand University where they were preparing for an English education event for underprivileged children. They had all proper permissions but were stopped when returning to Peshawar.”

The six detained included three foreigners described as US diplomats, as well as three Pakistanis, which included a security guard and two drivers.

According to recent instruction from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, foreign diplomats are prohibited from carrying weapons or travelling to prohibited areas in the province unless expressly permitted by the provincial government with a No Objection Certificate (NOC).