NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s Special Cell has busted a Pakistan-backed international terror-crime syndicate allegedly linked to gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti and his associate, Ajmal Gujjar, arresting seven key operatives.Police said the accused were involved in smuggling illegal arms, ammunition and narcotic substances from Pakistan through Punjab and supplying them across Delhi-NCR. The arrests also helped thwart several planned terror incidents in the region.The seven arrested have been identified as Anas Tyagi (26), Mohit (26), Deepak Agrola (38), Arif (30), Karanveer Singh (26), Jatan (29) and Sabir (30).According to police, intelligence inputs received in May indicated that the Pakistan-based handlers were planning attacks in Delhi-NCR through youths recruited via social media platforms. Acting on the information, police first apprehended Mohit from northeast Delhi and seized an illegal pistol, cartridges and a mobile phone containing alleged communications with the network.Subsequent investigation revealed that the accused were recruited through social media and encrypted communication platforms and were tasked with facilitating the smuggling and distribution of weapons and narcotics sent from Pakistan via drone deliveries and later supplied across Delhi and the NCR.“Some of them conducted reconnaissance of public places and other potential targets, with photographs and videos being sent to handlers based in Pakistan,” a senior police officer said.
