India, April 27 -- Delhi Police has busted an illegal arms supply chain operating between east Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh with the arrest of three men, including an alleged key weapon supplier from Meerut, after a surveillance-led operation prevented what investigators suspect could have been a planned violent crime.

Police said the crackdown led to the seizure of five firearms, 16 live cartridges, three knives and a car used by the accused. The arrests were made in a two-stage operation beginning in east Delhi and ending with follow-up raids in Dadri and Meerut.

Investigators said the operation was launched after police teams picked up intelligence inputs through technical surveillance and monitoring of suspicious social media act...