New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Wednesday busted a major international arms trafficking module with links to Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, operating from the Walled City area of the national capital. Ten key operatives of the interstate network have been arrested, and a large cache of sophisticated foreign-made weapons has been recovered.
According to officials, a total of 21 high-end weapons, including a submachine gun and several semi-automatic pistols, along with around 200 live cartridges, were seized during the operation.
The recovered arms include advanced firearms such as the PX-5.7 pistol, Stoeger pistols (made in Türkiye), PX-3 pistols (made in China), Shadow CZ (made in the Czech Republic), Beretta (made in Italy), Taurus (made in Brazil), and Walther (made in Germany). Notably, the PX-5.7 pistol is typically used by Special Forces.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the weapons were smuggled into India from Pakistan through the India-Nepal border. From there, the arms were routed to Delhi and distributed to criminal gangs operating across Delhi-NCR and other states.
During interrogation, it emerged that the entire module was being operated from the Walled City area of Delhi. The accused allegedly coordinated the movement of arms from across international borders and facilitated their distribution to organised crime groups. Police officials are now probing whether the weapons were intended for use in major criminal activities or potential terror operations.
Investigators are also examining the financial transactions linked to the accused to identify the masterminds behind the network and trace the end-users of the smuggled weapons. Authorities have heightened surveillance to detect any possible sleeper cells connected to the module. The arrested individuals are being further interrogated to uncover the full extent of the racket.
Officials noted that in November 2025, the Delhi Police had similarly busted an international illegal arms racket that supplied China- and Turkey-made weapons to members of notorious gangs, including those linked to Lawrence Bishnoi, Bambiha, and Gogi Himanshu Bhai.
That racket, allegedly linked to Pakistan’s ISI, had used drones to transport consignments across the Punjab border, after which the weapons were distributed to gangsters in the national capital region and nearby states. Further investigation in the present case is underway.
(IANS)
