New Delhi: Security agencies have foiled a major plot to allegedly target the national capital with advanced weapons, revealing a suspected cross-border syndicate linked to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, sources said.Authorities recovered 18 sophisticated firearms from nine alleged operatives, who were allegedly planning to send the weapons through Munger before distributing them across several states.ANI sources said investigators are also probing the role of Shahbaz Ansari, a wanted accused in the NIA’s Sidhu Moosewala arms supply case and a resident of Khurja in Uttar Pradesh.The latest operation comes days after the first anniversary of the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali national, on April 22, 2025.In a related action on April 24, the Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorism squad arrested two alleged gangsters in Noida, who are said to be working under the direct influence of Pakistan-based handlers and the ISI.The suspects, identified as Tushar Chauhan alias Hizbullah Ali Khan and Sameer Khan, 20, were found with a pistol, live ammunition and a knife.According to the ATS, intelligence inputs indicate that the two were attempting to compromise India’s internal security on the instructions of the ISI. Investigators said they were working with terrorist organizations and gangsters to radicalize Indian youth through Instagram and other social media platforms.The ATS further alleged that the two men were working with gangsters Shehzad Bhatti and Abid Jatt and were tasked with creating sleeper cells and conducting reconnaissance of sensitive locations for targeted killings.According to UP ATS, Bhatti had allegedly offered Tushar Rs 3 lakh, a part of which was paid in advance, along with a passport and safe passage to Pakistan via Dubai after carrying out the planned attacks.Investigators said the network was not limited to criminal elements and was linked to ISI operatives identified as Major Hamid, Major Iqbal and Major Anwar, who allegedly helped supply arms and money.(With ANI inputs)