Hyderabad: Illegal arms traffickers in Hyderabad are increasingly using mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and encrypted applications to create weapons marketplaces, successfully evading law enforcement with sophisticated cyber tactics. Intelligence sources reveal that the city’s gun trade is rapidly shifting from the shadows to the digital realm, stoking fears about public safety and fuelling crime across Telangana and beyond.
Weapons dealers and buyers initially connect through posts and groups on Facebook and Instagram, often camouflaged as hobby or collector pages. Once a conversation begins, deals quickly shift to encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, or Wickr, moving transactions away from prying eyes and platform moderation. Advertisers either flaunt images of firearms or simply mention key terms, nudging interested parties to take the transaction offline and into secure chat rooms.
In May 2025, Hyderabad police busted a major interstate gang with roots in Uttar Pradesh, arresting men who had brought five country-made guns and 18 live rounds for sale in the city. The accused, lured by encrypted contacts, procured the firearms via underground networks and planned to supply anti-social elements in Hyderabad. Another 2024 case saw police seize seven illegal firearms from an arms dealer in Neredmet. Investigators found the dealer sourced weapons using contacts made through social media, successfully evading detection by shifting chats to encrypted messengers.
Even less lethal but restricted weapons are moved digitally; in 2018, police arrested twelve Hyderabad residents for purchasing swords and daggers online and flaunting them on Facebook. The Task Force tracked them via their social media posts and coordinated raids to recover the illegal weapons, which included ten swords, two daggers, and a knife.
Recent studies highlight how cyber surveillance units now monitor social media for keywords, suspicious weapons images, and encrypted chat app links. Criminals often rely on weak enforcement and loopholes in platform moderation; while Facebook and Instagram claim to block gun sales, traffickers switch IDs or migrate activity to new groups and accounts, constantly remaining one step ahead of takedowns.
Unlicensed arms are finding their way into the hands of rowdy elements and unemployed youth, used for criminal activities or brandished during public events. Police face daunting challenges: the digital trail is often short-lived, accounts vanish or reappear with new aliases, and encrypted apps offer little hope for the recovery of deleted conversations.
Hyderabad’s experience is a microcosm of a nationwide surge. Illicit gun sales orchestrated across platformswhere an Instagram bio leads to a WhatsApp deal and Telegram finalises paymentare turning big cities into hubs for a pan-India weapons pipeline.
Law enforcement is racing to adapt, deploying cyber intelligence and urging platforms to ramp up proactive intervention, but traffickers continue to evolve their methods.
