Delhi Police bust arms trafficking module linked to Pakistan’s ISI

The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch on Saturday (November 22, 2025) busted an international arms trafficking network allegedly linked to Pakistan’s ISI-backed suppliers and arrested four key operatives involved in supplying high-end foreign-made weapons to organised crime groups across north India. 

According to the police, the network sourced foreign-made weapons smuggled from Pakistan using drones and supplied them to gangsters in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The police identified the four arms smugglers as Mandeep Singh, Dalvinder Kumar, Rohan Tomar and Ajay from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. 

The matter came to light when the police received intelligence about a cross-border arms smuggling gang and the possibility of the smugglers coming to the capital’s Rohini area to deliver arms. “We maintained surveillance at the area when we saw a white four wheeler matching the description of the intelligence we received,” said the officer.

Upon intercepting the vehicle, the police apprehended two suspects — Mandeep and Dalvinder, and found a box containing eight high-quality, foreign-made semi-automatic pistols and 84 live cartridges (0.30 bore), said the officer. The two were booked under Sections 25 and 25(8) of the Arms Act. Following their arrest, two more of their gang members, Rohan and Ajay, were apprehended from Uttar Pradesh, and two more semi-automatic pistols and eight live cartridges were recovered, said the officer. 

During investigation, the police learnt that the traffickers from Pakistan smuggle weapons by using drones. “Investigation revealed that traffickers based in Pakistan deploy customised commercial drones to drop arms, ammunition and other contraband items near vulnerable stretches of the border, primarily during latenight hours to avoid detection,” said the officer. They also learnt that these drones are flown at a low altitude to evade the radar and carry small but high-value payloads. 

Hawala payments

“The consignments are dropped at pre-selected GPS locations close to the border fence, where receivers on the Indian side, usually local criminals, retrieve the material. The handlers coordinate the drop through encrypted communication platforms and frequently change locations and timings to avoid pattern detection,” added the officer.

The network allegedly relies on local collaborators who monitor police movement, facilitate quick pickups, and transport the consignment to safe houses, he said, adding that payments were routed through hawala channels or proxy accounts to maintain anonymity. “They used to wrap the weapons in carbon papers so that they could not be intercepted on checking,” said the officer. 

According to the police, the four accused have several criminal charges against them, including murder, assault, NDPS and Arms Act. “All four have served jail time for various criminal acts and after serving their terms have been associated with arms trafficking backed by the ISI in Pakistan,” said the officer.