Major terror module linked to Dawood and ISI busted in Delhi; 9 arrested

The Special Cell of Delhi Police on Saturday busted a major terror module linked to the Dawood Ibrahim network and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), arresting nine individuals who were allegedly plotting attacks on critical installations, security personnel, and religious places in the national capital, sources told ANI on Saturday.

The police have also recovered a significant cache of arms, hand grenades, and explosive materials from the possession of the arrested accused.

According to ANI, citing sources, the module had been meticulously developed over a long period by Pakistan's intelligence establishment with the specific objective of executing terror attacks in the national capital.

The arrested individuals allegedly include individuals of Nepali origin who were also a part of the network.

Initial investigations have indicated alleged operational connections between the arrested suspects, Pakistan-supported handlers, and operatives linked to the Mumbai underworld network.

Sources told ANI that the accused were tasked with targeting high-value critical installations, security personnel, and prominent religious places in Delhi.

The operation led to the seizure of firearms, advanced explosive substances, and several hand grenades, helping avert a potential security threat to the national capital.

The Delhi Police Special Cell has launched a detailed investigation into the group's financing sources, recruitment methods, and logistical infrastructure. Authorities are also closely scrutinising the involvement of handlers and local accomplices allegedly connected to the terror plot.

Meanwhile, exactly a month ago, Indian law enforcement agencies achieved a major breakthrough against the D-Company network when Mohammad Salim Dola, a high-ranking associate of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India from Turkey.

Dola, who had been absconding since 2020, was apprehended from a residence in Istanbul's Beylikduzu district following a targeted operation by the Narcotics Crimes Division of the Istanbul Police Department and was processed for deportation, ANI reported.

He arrived at the Delhi Technical Airport and was produced before a Delhi court, which granted a two-day transit remand to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to transport him to Mumbai in connection with a 2023 NCB Mumbai case involving an Interpol Red Notice under the NDPS Act, ANI reported.

The major operation coincides with ongoing investigations in India, where suspects arrested in Mumbai's Kurla area allegedly admitted to acting on Dola's directions. Their interrogation led authorities to recover more than 126 kilograms of mephedrone and ₹25.22 lakh in cash.

Regarded as a key figure in overseeing Dawood's global narcotics network, officials believe Dola's detention could yield crucial information about D-Company's cross-border drug trafficking routes through West Asia and Europe, the hawala networks allegedly used to channel drug proceeds into organised crime, and the sleeper cells and distribution networks believed to be active across Mumbai and nearby states, ANI reported.

(With inputs from ANI)