New Delhi, 03 October (H.S.): Security and intelligence agencies have achieved a significant breakthrough in the ongoing international campaign against narcotics trafficking, with notorious drug trafficker Navpreet Singh being deported from Türkiye to India. Following his return, he was arrested and sent to jail in connection with drug-trafficking and other criminal cases. Singh had allegedly obtained Turkish citizenship using a false identity.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X that the Modi government had secured the deportation of “notorious drug trafficker” Navpreet Singh from Türkiye. He alleged that Singh had obtained Turkish citizenship using the false identity of Nawab Virk and continued trafficking heroin and methamphetamine from Afghanistan into India. According to Shah, Indian agencies traced him, established his true identity and secured his deportation. He said Singh had now been brought back to India and sent to jail in connection with cases involving drug trafficking and other offences. Shah congratulated all the agencies involved and said the government was committed to eliminating every drug cartel before December 2029.

It is noteworthy that the Indian government has undertaken a coordinated campaign to bring fugitives back to the country. According to the figures cited in the report, a total of 288 fugitives were brought back to India from 36 countries between 2019 and August 2026. Following the stringent implementation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Rs 18,762 crore was successfully recovered between 2019 and 2026, while assets worth a total of Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitives were seized. The figures include funds linked to economic offenders who fled the country.

The report further states that Red Notices were issued against 401 fugitive criminals over the past three years, while a total of 182 Red Notices had been issued by July 2026.

In January 2025, the Home Minister launched Bharatpol, an initiative aimed at strengthening coordination, communication and cooperation between Indian and international law-enforcement agencies. More than 1,400 units of State and Central agencies are connected to the portal, facilitating the seamless exchange of information.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar