Rajasthan, April 8 -- Rajasthan police seized nearly 5kg of methamphetamine worth Rs.25 crore and arrested two men in Barmer after busting a tech-savvy cross-border smuggling module linked to Pakistan, officers said on Tuesday. Additional director general of police (crime) Dinesh MN said the contraband weighs 4.980kg and fetches around Rs.5 crore per kg in the international market, underscoring its high potency and demand. "The drugs were smuggled from across the international border and were meant for further distribution to urban markets," he added. The operation stemmed from credible inputs by the Gujarat anti-terrorism squad, directed by additional director general (ATS/AGTF/ANTF) Dinesh MN, with close oversight from inspector general Rajesh Singh and deputy inspectors general Yogesh Yadav and Rammurti Joshi. The accused are Salman, son of Lalakhan, and Shankar Ram, son of Ramesh Ram Meghwal, both residents of Sajan Ka Par village in the Ramsar area of Barmer district, a known hotspot for smuggling due to its proximity to the border. Police also seized the vehicle used in the operation, along with the accused's mobile phones containing deleted data traces. "They have been booked under relevant sections of the NDPS Act, and further investigation is underway to map the full network," an officer said. With the arrests, Rajasthan ATS and Barmer police exposed the location-based module, which relied on GPS coordinates shared via apps, encrypted calls on platforms like WhatsApp, and "dead drop" methods-pre-arranged hidden caches-to traffic drugs, cash, and possibly weapons across the border in Rajasthan's remote desert terrain, police said. ADG (crime) Dinesh MN said the breakthrough followed the arrests of Salman and Shankar Ram. Interrogation revealed Salman had been on contact for six months with Pakistan-based handler Masad via a local contact, Rahim Khan, who acted as an intermediary. The handler enticed him with cash incentives, directing operations remotely through WhatsApp calls and Google Maps pins to isolated spots near the BSF fence, where drug packets lay buried in shallow pits. The accused would unearth, verify, and relocate them as ordered to evade patrols. On April 4, Salman dug up five packets about 250 metres from the border, stashed in a yellow plastic sack under a thorny tree for camouflage. "The payment system combined digital transfers and cash drops. The accused received money in instalments through an Airtel Payments Bank account linked to aliases, while larger payments were buried at secret locations and collected using precise GPS coordinates," ADG Dinesh MN said. According to the police, the network operated in silos, with chats, call logs, and location data routinely erased post-operation using apps to evade forensic detection. The handler is believed active for years in Barmer border villages, including Bhabhutiya ki Dhani, exploiting local vulnerabilities. The probe has expanded after disclosures that these routes also ferried explosives and illegal arms, raising national security concerns. The ATS, Anti-Gangster Task Force, Barmer police, and intelligence agencies have mounted joint raids across districts, detaining several suspects for questioning, police said. Superintendent of police (ATS) Gyan Chand Yadav and Barmer SP Chunar Ram Jat are heading the investigation. "Further arrests and recoveries are expected, with indications of a larger inter-state and international network spanning Gujarat and beyond. Teams are analysing mobile data, WhatsApp chats, financial transactions, and identifying possible locations where contraband may have been concealed using the same GPS-based method."...