LeT handler Shabir Ahmed Lone held in Delhi’s Ghazipur; foreign currencies, SIM seized

New Delhi: The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler, Shabir Ahmed Lone, from the Ghazipur area here, officials said on Monday.

Terming Lone as a "hardcore and highly trained terrorist," the officials said that he reportedly established links with handlers operating on behalf of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

"Lone, also known by aliases Raja and Kashmiri, is a resident of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and was allegedly operating as the handler of a recently busted module involved in pasting anti-national posters across multiple locations in Delhi and Kolkata," a senior police officer said.

According to the officer, a team from the New Delhi Range of the Special Cell arrested Shabir Ahmed Lone on the night of March 29 in the Ghazipur area.

Lone was wanted in connection with the LeT module that had been recently unearthed in the metro poster case on February 22, the officer said.

"During the arrest, police recovered multiple foreign currencies and other incriminating material from his possession. These included approximately 2,300 units of Bangladeshi Taka, 1,400 units of Nepalese currency, 5,000 units of Pakistani currency, and 3,000 units of Indian currency," they said.

A Nepalese SIM card was also seized, raising suspicions about cross-border communication and operational coordination.

"The module was being run at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with Lone acting as a key conduit between handlers based abroad and operatives on the ground in India," the officer said.

Lone had a long history of involvement in terror activities and had been previously arrested in 2007 by the Special Cell. At that time, an AK-47 rifle and a hand grenade were recovered from his possession. He was again arrested in 2015 in Srinagar under the jurisdiction of Parimpora Police Station.

He also said that even during his earlier arrest, Lone had come to Delhi with the intent to carry out targeted killings. He is a highly trained operative who has undergone terror training "Daura-e-Aam" (basic terror training) and "Daura-e-Khaas" (advanced terror training) from the Muzaffarabad LeT camp in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Following his release, he allegedly fled to Bangladesh and began rebuilding a fresh terror network targeting India.

During his stay in Bangladesh, Lone reportedly established links with new handlers affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba. These handlers, identified by their code names Abu Huzaifa and Sumama Babar, were operating on behalf of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Lone's task was to resume terror activities in India by activating sleeper cells and recruiting fresh operatives. He used Bangladesh as a base to facilitate infiltration and coordination," the officer added.

Investigations revealed that Lone had set up an operational base in Kolkata, which served as a launching pad for activities across multiple states.

From this base, the module carried out a "test run" by pasting pro-Pakistan and anti-national posters at prominent locations in Delhi and Kolkata, assessing their operational capabilities and response mechanisms.

The operatives also conducted reconnaissance of several sensitive locations across the country, including temples and high-footfall public places. Videos of these reconnaissance missions were recorded and transmitted to handlers in Pakistan, police said.

He said that Lone had created a structured network involving foreign nationals, particularly from Bangladesh, and was attempting to expand it further by identifying recruits and locations for future operations.

Police said that he is currently being interrogated to identify other associates, financial links, and potential targets.

Possible hawala channels and cross-border funding mechanisms connected to the recovered foreign currencies are also being probed, police said.

"The arrest of Lone marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the metro poster case, which had triggered security concerns earlier this year," the officer added.

In a related development, the Special Cell had on February 22 busted a pan-India LeT module and arrested eight operatives, including seven Bangladeshi nationals, following coordinated raids in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Those arrested were allegedly acting under Lone's direction and were involved in pasting pro-terror posters and conducting reconnaissance of sensitive installations. Investigators had found that Lone was operating as their handler from Bangladesh and had been actively directing their activities.

"The module had been formed with the objective of reviving terror operations in India by exploiting illegal immigration networks and forged identity documents," a police source said.

The operatives were tasked with recruiting people and arranging logistics, including safe houses and weapons, the source said.

The February crackdown had exposed the broader network and laid the groundwork for tracing Lone's movements and eventual arrest. Further investigation into the case is underway.