New Delhi, 14 August (H.S.):
In a major success under the Central Government's ‘zero-tolerance’ policy against drug trafficking, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has brought international drug trafficker Virendra Singh Basoya alias Veeru, who had been hiding abroad, back to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Basoya was taken into custody after arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi early Friday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said Interpol had issued a Red Notice against Basoya at the request of the NCB, based on which he was arrested in the UAE in June this year. Following sustained coordination among Indian agencies and cooperation from the UAE authorities, he was subsequently brought back to India. Basoya is a resident of Pilanji in Delhi's Sarojini Nagar area.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on social media platform ‘X’ that the Modi government was continuously pursuing drug traffickers hiding abroad and dismantling their entire networks. He said the NCB had achieved another major milestone in its zero-tolerance approach to narcotics by bringing fugitive drug kingpin Virendra Singh Basoya back from the UAE.
According to Shah, through a strategy of tracing criminal networks from the top down as well as from the bottom up, Indian agencies had once again demonstrated that drug traffickers cannot evade the reach of Indian law, regardless of where they hide in the world.
The case came to light in February 2024 following the seizure of 500 grams of mephedrone in Pune. As the investigation progressed, agencies undertook extensive action to identify and dismantle the entire drug trafficking network. Subsequently, approximately 867 kg of mephedrone was seized in Pune and around 970 kg in Delhi, taking the total seizure to nearly 1,837 kg of mephedrone. The further investigation into the case was later transferred to the NCB's Mumbai Zonal Unit.
During the investigation, Basoya was identified as a key operator and alleged conspirator of the network operating from abroad. He is accused of coordinating the activities of the entire syndicate from overseas and facilitating the movement of consignments of mephedrone from India to other countries. The large consignment of approximately 970 kg of mephedrone recovered in Delhi was allegedly linked to preparations to send the drugs abroad through courier channels associated with him.
Basoya's name has also emerged in a separate case investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell involving an international cocaine trafficking network. In October 2024, the Special Cell busted a major drug trafficking syndicate and seized more than 1,300 kg of cocaine, mephedrone and hydroponic weed during operations at warehouses and other locations in Delhi, Hapur and Ghaziabad, as well as at a factory in Ankleshwar, Gujarat.
The investigation found Basoya's alleged role to be linked to the coordination of the procurement, transportation, storage and distribution of cocaine and other narcotic substances.
Basoya's return to India is part of the NCB's continuing action under ‘Operation Global-Hunt’, an initiative aimed at identifying, apprehending and bringing back to India key drug traffickers and fugitives operating from overseas. The operation relies on international cooperation mechanisms, including Interpol Red Notices, to track down such offenders.
As part of the campaign, the NCB had earlier succeeded in bringing back Mohammed Salim Dola from Türkiye and Naveen Chichkar from Malaysia.
According to the NCB, bringing fugitives back to India to face legal proceedings for their alleged crimes forms part of the Vision Document on Drug Control for 2026-2029. Under the framework, coordinated efforts with national and international agencies are continuing to identify, apprehend and repatriate other major drug traffickers operating from abroad.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
