NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has busted a cross-border arms trafficking module involving operations in Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh and arrested 10 key operatives. The police have disclosed the module initially sent weapons consignments West Asian countries from Pakistan, from where they were dismantled and sent to Nepal in scrap and assembled again there before being smuggled into India.
The police have recovered one Czech Skorpion sub-machine gun, 20 Italian Beretta pistols, Brazilian Tauras, German Walther, CZ Shadow, Stoeger, Turkish PX- 5.7, and PX-3, Star, a police officer said.
Shahbaz Ansari has been identified as the kingpin of this gang. He is an interstate arms trafficker, allegedly involved in supplying illegal firearms to criminal networks in north India, particularly in the National Capital Region and adjoining states. He has been linked with networks that facilitate the procurement, transportation, and distribution of sophisticated illegal weapons to gangsters and organised crime groups.
Ansari was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in 2022 in an arms trafficking case and was also linked to murder of prominent Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, in which he is a key accused. He allegedly supplies illegal weapons and ammunition to the members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which were said to have been used in Moosewala’s murder on May 29, 2022, in Punjab.
In 2025, Ansari was released on interim bail, but he fled India and is currently believed to be operating from Bangladesh along with his uncle Rehan. His brother Shahzad Ansari is based in Dubai, who allegedly maintains contact with Pakistan‑based handlers.
The arrested people include Rahil (37), Hasim (45), Saim (24), Sonu Gupta (31), Ghanshyam Sharma (26), Wasim Malik, Nishant Arora alias Ankit (34), Mohammad Nauman (32), Mohammad Naushad (37), and Nawab (31).
Three accused were trapped in Daryaganj
DCP (crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said the police laid a trap on March 13 near Brijmohan Chowk, Daryaganj, and apprehended three suspects—Rahil, Haism, and Saim. Three star marked pistols and 14 live cartridges, were recovered from them. Interrogation revealed all three were linked with foreign-based handlers.