The officers were charged with accepting bribes of 700,000 rupees (15,200 dollars) to allow arms and explosives from the the Raigad coast in southern Maharashtra state to reach the country's financial capital, a court official said.

Convicted were Vijay Patil, Ashok Nimeshwar, Pandharinath Mahadik, R.D. Mali and S.Y. Pashilkar who worked in or near Raigad. They were taken into custody after the verdicts.

Krishna Mokal, Krishna Pingale and M.M. More were acquitted of the same charges.

"This is a key judgement, with government officials (police) being found guilty in a mammoth case," said chief prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. Sentencing will be announced separately.

The five are among 18 people convicted so far over the 'Black Friday' attacks, which killed 257 people, carried out in revenge for Hindu-Muslim religious clashes several months earlier.

Verdicts for the rest of the 123 defendants, who include Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, are expected in the coming weeks with sentencing for the guilty to follow. Six people have so far been acquitted.