The quiet but steady exodus orchestrated by Dubai-based ganglord Abu Salem has been underway for about a year now, with about 500 youth being spirited across India's borders over the last nine months for training at terrorist bases. ``The recruitment drive by Dubai-based gangsters for ISI activities is very serious. There have been large-scale recruitment of youth from the city in recent past,'' said Additional Commissioner of Police (north-west) Rakesh Maria.

The organisations, operating in tandem with local travel agents, have been targeting unemployed youth aged between 18 and 25, preferably misguided young men yearning for a mission. Aimless and almost penniless, they are ideal candidates for training interrorist activities. Baffled by the sudden rush of unskilled youth from India to Dubai despite the saturation of employment there, intelligence agencies thus stumbled upon the operation. Lured by the promise of lucrative employment, youth from predominantly Muslim localities like Dongri, Mumbra and Cheetah Camp in Trombay are then dispatched to training camps of the militia in war-torn neighbouring countries.

The Mumbai police, which is assisting intelligence agencies with surveillance, got their first break with the arrest of two ISI agents, Sayyed Javed Hussain Shah Jafri alias Rafiq Khan and Shamshad Haider Gulam Kadir alias Rajkumar last year. The spurt in the number of travel agents in target areas has also helped police unravel the modus operandi. These agents, acting as fronts for gangsters based in Gulf countries, are hired to expedite the processing of documents for the new recruits. Commissioner R H Mendonca said: ``We have noticed a sudden spurt in the recruitment drive by ganglords in Dubaiand Karachi and the Mumbai police is actively monitoring their activities.'' He refused to elaborate, saying this could compromise surveillance. Intelligence sources, however, reveal that a large number of recruits is routed via Nepal due to the absence of stringent transit regulations.