Delhi Police Bust ISI-Linked Drone Gun-Running Network
Police said the module had been supplying weapons to gangs operating in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab: Reports
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police have cracked down on a cross-border gun-running network, arresting four alleged members of an international arms trafficking syndicate that investigators say sourced high-end foreign-made weapons from Pakistan using customised, low-flying drones. The weapons were then supplied to organised crime syndicates across north India.
According to investigators, intelligence received on November 19 indicated an ISI-linked arms supply chain connected to Punjab-origin gangster Sonu Khatri, alias Rajesh Kumar, who is currently based in the United States and wanted in more than 45 criminal cases.
The four arrested have been identified as Mandeep Singh, 38, and Dalvinder Kumar, 34, of Punjab, and Rohan Tomar, 30, and Ajay alias Monu, 37, of Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
Police said the module had been supplying weapons to gangs operating in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The consignments, smuggled from Pakistan with ISI-backed facilitation, were dropped at pre-fed GPS coordinates along vulnerable stretches of the Punjab border. These nocturnal drops were carried out using drones modified to fly at low altitudes to evade radar detection.
Local receivers retrieved the packages, moved them to safe houses, and then distributed the weapons to crime networks across states. The syndicate used encrypted communication channels, frequently changed drop locations and wrapped consignments in carbon-coated material to escape scanning. Payments, investigators said, were routed through hawala networks and proxy accounts to conceal the money trail.
In the operation, police seized ten high-end pistols, including Turkiye-made PX-5.7 models typically used by special forces, along with 92 live cartridges.
