New Delhi: What looked like an ordinary cluster of lanes in Old Delhi was, investigators say, the nerve centre of a covert international gun-running network. A network that quietly channelled high-grade weapons from across borders into the hands of NCR’s crime gangs. In a major crackdown, the Delhi Police Crime Branch dismantled the operation, arresting ten members. The police also recovered 21 sophisticated firearms along with 200 live cartridges. Among the weapons seized were a Czech-made submachine gun, multiple semi-automatic pistols from global manufacturers including Beretta, Walther, Taurus and CZ, and a PX-5.7 pistol – a high-end firearm typically linked to elite forces – raising serious concerns about the scale and intent of the network.
The operation, led by DCP Sanjeev Yadav, uncovered a well-oiled pipeline stretching across Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
According to investigators, weapons were trafficked from Pakistan, moved through the porous Indo-Nepal border, and funneled into Delhi, where the Walled City functioned as the key distribution hub.
From here, the network supplied arms to criminal groups across Delhi-NCR and other states, effectively bridging international suppliers with domestic organised crime.
Officials said the bust has struck at a crucial supply chain that had been feeding high-grade weapons into the region’s underworld.
The probe is now widening beyond the arrests. Investigators are examining financial trails to identify the masterminds behind the operation and track the final recipients of the smuggled weapons. Authorities are also scanning for possible sleeper cell links connected to the network.
Those arrested are currently being interrogated as police attempt to piece together the full scale of the racket and uncover how deep the pipeline runs.
