India, May 19 -- LUCKNOW/MEERUT Suspected ISI agent, Shahzad Wahab, 35, who was arrested in UP's Moradabad on Sunday, had recruited 20 people, including three women, to spy for Pakistan's secret agency and provided them funds on the instructions of his ISI handlers operating from across the border, said senior officials on Monday.

Shahzad, a resident of Rampur, was apprehended by the UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Sunday night, following inputs about his alleged involvement in cross-border smuggling and espionage activities for the ISI. He travelled to Pakistan several times over the years and was allegedly smuggling cosmetics, clothes, spices, and other items across the border, it was alleged.

The arrest came after a tip-off that a busi...