Delhi Police bust interstate arms smuggling and fake currency cartel, 5 arrested | Delhi News
The Delhi Police Special Cell busted an interstate cartel involved in arms smuggling and fake Indian currency note (FICN) circulation and arrested five people, the police said Friday.
The accused have been identified as Ravi Thakur, 35; Yogesh Phogat, 28; Kuldeep, 33; Meera, 27; and Samsu Khan, 27. The gang was operating across several states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, and West Bengal, with links traced to arms sources in Madhya Pradesh and FICN suppliers in Siwan in Bihar, said the police.
The investigation began on July 6, when Ravi Thakur, a resident of Mathura, was apprehended following a tip-off. He was found in possession of five sophisticated semi-automatic pistols and ten live cartridges, said police. Thakur, who once drove an auto-rickshaw for a living, allegedly confessed that he entered the illegal arms trade under the influence of handlers who offered quick money. According to the police, for each weapon delivered, he earned around Rs 5,000.
Based on Thakur’s statement, the police next arrested Yogesh Phogat from Gurgaon. Phogat, already facing two attempted murder cases in Delhi, had procured arms from Thakur and others, paying through direct bank transfers and cash, said police. One pistol was recovered from his vehicle.
The investigation then led to the arrest of Kuldeep from Sonipat in Haryana. A former railway employee who went absent without leave in 2022, Kuldeep had a violent past, with cases registered under the Arms Act. Police recovered one pistol and 35 live cartridges from his car, which was found to be modified to be bulletproof to aid in arms delivery and escape in hostile situations, said the police.
On Thursday, Meera, a 27-year-old woman from Mathura, was arrested. Separated from her husband, she had become an active trafficker under the direction of Samsu Khan, said the police. Meera allegedly admitted to coordinating weapons supplies to Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab, and Haryana.
On Friday, the alleged mastermind Samsu Khan was arrested from his hometown Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, with assistance from local police. A raid at his premises resulted in the recovery of three pistols, ten cartridges of .315 bore, four of 9 mm, four of .32 bore, and Rs 4.1 lakh in fake Rs 500 notes. According to police, Khan had been evading arrest in an arms trafficking case lodged by ATS, Uttar Pradesh. He had shifted his base to Hooghly in West Bengal, where he continued to run his operations remotely through encrypted messaging on social media. He was also sourcing FICN from contacts in Siwan in Bihar.
Story continues below this ad
“The cartel utilised coded messaging on social media platforms to coordinate procurement of illegal weapons and ammunition from Madhya Pradesh and distribution in Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab. Each layer of the network i.e., supplier, intermediary and local distributor, earned substantial commissions on delivery per weapon,” said Amit Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell.
