New Delhi, 25 March (H.S.):
Delhi Police Crime Branch smashed a major transnational arms trafficking network Wednesday arresting 10 suspects operating from Old Delhi's Walled City particularly around Jama Masjid. The syndicate linked to Pakistan Nepal and Bangladesh supplied illegal weapons across India with raids yielding one sub-machine gun 21 cutting-edge foreign firearms and 200 live rounds.
DCP Crime Branch Sanjeev Kumar Yadav revealed the gang exploited crowded narrow lanes using encrypted messaging VOIP calls frequent SIM swaps and hawala payments for seamless operations. A dedicated team under Inspectors Man Singh Arvind Singh and Sunder Gautam tracked the network through technical surveillance and informants laying a trap at Daryaganj's Brijmohan Chowk on March 13-14 nabbing three initial suspects with pistols leading to the full bust.
Investigations pinpoint mastermind Shahbaz Ansari now fugitive in Bangladesh previously nabbed by NIA and named in Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala's murder network. Weapons routed from Pakistan via Middle East disassembled into Nepal reassembled then smuggled across the Indo-Nepal border fed gangs in Delhi-NCR and beyond.
The haul boasts elite-grade gear like Czech Scorpion sub-machine gun Italian Beretta German Walther Brazilian Taurus and Turkish Stoeger pistols some reserved for special forces.
Many arrestees boast prior criminal records and gang ties with interrogations ongoing and raids hunting remaining links. Police hail the operation as a crippling blow to capital region organized crime with more revelations expected.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
