An international arms trafficking network with “direct links to Pakistan’s ISI-backed suppliers” has been busted, Delhi Police said on Saturday, following the arrest of four key operatives and the recovery of 10 foreign-made semi-automatic pistols and 92 live cartridges.

The racket supplied weapons to major organised crime groups across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

According to police, the syndicate used customised drones capable of low-altitude flights to smuggle weapons from Pakistan into Punjab.

Traffickers across the border allegedly dropped consignments at pre-marked GPS coordinates along vulnerable border stretches at night.

Local receivers then transported the packages to safe houses before distributing them to gangs across north India.

The firearms were wrapped in carbon-coated material “to evade detection,” officials said.

Joint CP Surender Kumar said police apprehended the first accused on November 19 after receiving intelligence inputs that an ISI-backed supply chain linked to the gang of Punjab-origin gangster Sonu Khatri was planning a weapons delivery in Rohini.

A trap was laid near the Khatu Shyam Temple on Bawana Road, where a white car was intercepted and a duffel bag concealed inside a speaker box was found carrying eight foreign-made pistols and 84 cartridges.

During interrogation, police learned that two more operatives were set to collect additional weapons. These suspects — Rohan Tomar and Ajay alias Monu from Baghpat — were arrested soon after, and two more pistols along with eight cartridges were recovered from them.

“The location is sanitised and then the drone drops the weapons,” Kumar said, adding that the module relied on encrypted communication and frequently changed drop points.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mandeep Singh (38), Dalvinder Kumar (34), Rohan Tomar (30) and Ajay alias Monu (37).

Officials said Mandeep, also known as Pita or Manpreet, is a member of the Sonu Khatri gang and “was in touch with a Pakistan-based handler.”

Dalvinder earlier worked in Dubai before turning to crime due to financial distress.

Rohan and Ajay were long associated with gangs in Delhi-NCR, including the Jitender Gogi gang, the Bhau gang and the Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang.

Police said the seized cache includes five Turkish-made pistols and three China-made pistols.

Among them, the Turkiye-made PX-5.7 — “typically used only by special forces” — indicates a “highly sophisticated and well-organised cross-border supply chain,” a senior officer said.

Investigators believe the network earlier dropped eight weapons in Punjab before they were moved to Delhi for handover to local gang operatives.

The syndicate has supplied arms to the Bishnoi gang, the Bambiha gang and other active criminal groups, police said.

Officials also revealed that Jamseet Jassa, a US-based operative, is involved in managing the module, while Jaspreet alias Jas — currently abroad — linked the arrested men to ISI-backed suppliers.

A Red Corner Notice has been issued against foreign-based gangster Sonu Khatri, who is wanted in over 45 criminal cases and is suspected to be coordinating with handlers across the border.

Police said more suspects have been identified, and further arrests are expected as the crackdown “delivers a major setback to the cross-border smuggling of sophisticated firearms.”