12 held for terror links in Andhra
NEW DELHI, Mar 25:
The Delhi Police has busted a major international arms trafficking module with links to Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, arresting 10 key operatives and recovering a cache of sophisticated foreign-made weapons, an official said on Wednesday.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
The module, allegedly operating from the walled city of Old Delhi, was part of an organised cross-border network supplying illegal arms to criminal syndicates across Delhi-NCR and other states, they said.
A total of 21 firearms, including a Czech-made sub-machine gun (SMG) and 20 high-end semi-automatic pistols, along with 200 live cartridges, were seized during the operation.
Police said the weapons included PX-5.7 pistols typically used by special forces Stoeger pistols from Turkiye, PX-3 pistols from China, Shadow CZ pistols from the Czech Republic, besides Beretta (Italy), Taurus (Brazil) and Walther (Germany) pistols.
According to investigators, the arms were sourced from Pakistan and smuggled into India through the Indo-Nepal border using covert routes before being distributed through a network of handlers and couriers.
“The accused were in direct contact with handlers based in Nepal and Bangladesh, who procured weapons from Pakistan. The consignment was then routed into India and supplied to various criminal elements,” a senior police officer said.
Police said the traffickers used encrypted messaging applications, Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls and frequently changed SIM cards and mobile devices to evade detection. Payments were routed through hawala channels.
The accused have been identified as Rahil (37), Hasim (45), Saim (24), Sonu Gupta (31), Ghanshyam Sharma (26), Waseem Malik (39), Nishant Arora (34), Nawab (31), Md Nauman (32) and Md Naushad (37), hailing from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and adjoining areas.
The crackdown followed sustained technical surveillance and human intelligence inputs, with multiple raids conducted between March 13 and March 24 across Delhi-NCR and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Police said Rahil, a resident of Old Delhi, was a key operative of the module and had allegedly supplied 70-75 sophisticated firearms over the past several months on the directions of the kingpin Shahbaz Ansari.
Ansari, an interstate arms trafficker wanted in multiple cases including one being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is believed to be operating from Bangladesh after jumping interim bail.
During the operation, one of the accused, Sonu Gupta, allegedly attempted to open fire at the police team but was overpowered. In another instance, accused Naushad tried to flee and brandished a firearm before being apprehended after a brief scuffle.
Police said the densely populated Jama Masjid area was being used as a transit and concealment hub due to its narrow lanes and heavy footfall.
Further investigation is underway to trace backward and forward linkages of the network and identify other associates involved in the trafficking chain.
Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh police has arrested 12 people with suspected terror links following a coordinated multi-state operation.
Special teams were deployed in Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana and Rajasthan to arrest the suspects, police said on Wednesday.
“Multiple teams were constituted and deployed across Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana and Rajasthan, leading to the arrest of 12 suspects linked to extremist networks, including three from Andhra,” an intelligence official said.
Three people from Andhra Pradesh were identified as Mohammad Rahmatullah Shareef, Mirza Sohail Beg and Mohammad Danish, all residents of Vijayawada city.
According to police, the trio is allegedly involved in the promotion of extremist ideology and coordinating activities linked to banned terrorist organisations.
The suspects were in contact with foreign handlers linked to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and working towards anti-national objectives.
Investigation revealed that the three people had formed a group named “Al Malik Islamic Youth” with the objective of radicalising youth, preparing them for jihad and expanding their network across the country.
The Counter Intelligence (CI) Cell found that the accused established contact with banned terrorist outfits such as AQIS and ISIS, and were acting on the instructions from foreign handlers.
The three were allegedly working towards the concept of Ghazwa-e-Hind (war against India), and had expanded their network across several states by coordinating with operatives in different regions.
As per preliminary investigation, Rahmatullah, a bike taxi driver, was influenced by hate speeches of international terrorist leaders and actively followed and shared extremist content on social media.
Rahmatullah, along with Danish, who is a laser marking professional, and Sohail Beg, who works at a restaurant, allegedly expanded jihad-related activities through online platforms.
Rahmatullah developed contacts with a foreign handler identified as Al-Hakeem Shukur through social media and, on his instructions, collaborated with Shadman Dilkush from Bihar and Saida Begum from Hyderabad.
Further, he established links with individuals associated with ISIS-linked “Benex Com” group, including Ajmanullah Khan (Bihar), Lucky Ahmed (Delhi), Mir Asif Ali (West Bengal), Zeeshan (Rajasthan), Abdul Salam (Karnataka), Shah Rukh Khan and Shiyak Piyaz ur Rehman (Maharashtra), said the official.
The accused allegedly carried out activities based on instructions from these operatives and used social media platforms to promote extremist ideology and recruit youth.
The trio posted videos projecting themselves as Mujahideen, watched videos of Osama bin Laden and imitated him while engaging in radical propaganda, they said.
They allegedly replaced the national flag with that of ISIS in online posts, mocked the national anthem, burnt the national flag, praised ISIS and spread hatred against non-believers, declaring their objective of converting India into an Islamic state, they added.
Investigation further revealed that they were making arrangements to travel to Pakistan within a month to take part in training and were also motivating youth to undergo militant training in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Further investigation is underway to identify additional links and prevent expansion of the network, police added. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
