With the arrest of six people, including one Pakistani and one Nigerian, the Delhi Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted an international gang involved in smuggling of narcotics and funding of terrorism.
The members of the gang based in Pakistan used to supply narcotics to India. The contraband was then sold to a Nigerian who supplied it to Europe. The money generated by this cartel was used to fund terror activities in India, the police added.
Joint Commissioner of Police B K Gupta said, "The group was involved in supplying drugs and fake currency in India. The money was used to fund terrorist activities here."
The Indians arrested were identified as Raj Kumar Mehta, 69, Pradeep Kumar Chawla, 34, Harjinder Singh, 47, and Inder Singh 57. While Harjinder Singh is a resident of Punjab, all others are from Delhi.
The Pakistani was identified as Mohammad Hanif, 70, a resident of Lahore in Pakistan, and the Nigerian was Harley.
Police said the drugs were smuggled in India from Punjab's Amritsar and Ferozpur districts.
"The people who bring drugs from Pakistan are experts in this field. They can even cross from under the wire at the borders. They do it mostly in dark nights," Gupta said.
The police came to know about the racket came when they caught one Raj Kumar Mehta from Sarai Rohila Railway Station in Delhi on Sunday evening.
One kilogramme of heroine was seized from his possession. Mehta had a criminal record and was arrested earlier for the same reason.
He had gone to meet one of his associates Pradeep Kumar Chawla at the railway station. Chawla was also carrying a packet containing one kg of heroine. The police also seized US $23,000 from them.
During interrogation, Mehta revealed a larger network that originated in Pakistan.
Mehta said he used to supply the drugs to Harjinder Singh of Amritsar. Singh was arrested from Gol Dal Khan in Delhi the next day. One kg of heroine was seized from his car, the police said.
Singh had once gone to Moscow in 1992 where he came in contact with Nigerian smugglers. He used to sell the drugs to Harley in Delhi. Harley was arrested the same day from a south Delhi neighbourhood where he was living.
Harley came to Delhi from Nepal and was living here illegally for two years.
Another member of the gang, Mohammad Hanif, who hails from Lahore in Pakistan, was arrested from the house of Mehta's brother in Rohini.
Police said the gang was handled from Lahore.
Additional Commissioner of Police P Kamraj said these people were connected with the terrorists who were arrested in Delhi in 2000 with 15 kg of RDX and 20 pistols.
"Since RDX is used by terrorists, it indicates that the money was used to fund terrorism. This is a clear case of narco-terrorism," he said.
© 2025