Home / Crime and Justice / Pak Spy Ring Unmasked: Youths Paid to Film Military Sites
Pak Spy Ring Unmasked: Youths Paid to Film Military Sites
23 Mar
Summary
- Espionage network used encrypted apps to gather sensitive information.
- Network paid youths between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000 per assignment.
- At least 22 individuals, including minors, were apprehended in the operation.
What began as a routine intelligence check on March 14 has escalated into a significant espionage case, revealing an organized module operating under Pakistani handlers. At least 22 individuals, including minors, have been arrested in a coordinated operation targeting military installations and railway sites across several states. The network recruited youths through social media and encrypted apps, offering payments ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 for tasks such as filming railway stations and mapping perimeters.
Investigators uncovered alarming terror plots, including plans to install solar-powered CCTV cameras along the Delhi-Jammu railway corridor to monitor military movements. Cameras were already operational in Delhi Cantonment and Sonipat, Haryana, with a larger target list of approximately 50 installations nationwide. The module also involved a parallel operation to supply Indian SIM cards and OTPs abroad, facilitating the creation of untraceable communication channels.
Individuals with technical skills and those economically vulnerable were specifically targeted for recruitment. The operation, which began in Ghaziabad, has since expanded with arrests in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Nepal. Authorities are now working to reconstruct the entire network by visiting various sites where evidence was gathered.
