NEW DELHI: Virender Singh Basoya, a fugitive drug kingpin who was wanted in a Rs 13,000 crore case, has been brought back to India from the UAE, with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) taking him into custody.
Basoya was arrested in the UAE in June this year after an Interpol red notice was issued at the request of the NCB. His return to India was secured through sustained coordination between Indian agencies and UAE authorities, officials said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, announcing Basoya’s extradition, said that the government is relentlessly tracking down drug traffickers hiding abroad and destroying their entire ecosystem with a ruthless approach.
“Creating a new milestone in the policy of zero tolerance against narcotics, the NCB secured the return of fugitive drug kingpin Virender Singh Basoya from the UAE. By tracing the criminal through a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach, our agencies have once again proven that no matter where drug traffickers hide, they cannot escape the long arm of Indian law,” he wrote in a post on X.
Basoya had fled the country in 2023, a day after his son’s wedding.
After the Delhi drugs case surfaced in October 2024, a look-out circular was issued against him. However, he continued to operate the network from abroad.
The Rs 13,000 crore drug syndicate
On October 1, 2024, the Delhi Police Special Cell – acting on a tip-off – conducted a raid in the national capital’s Mahipalpur Extension where they found approximately 16 kg of a cocaine-like substance, 547 kg of cocaine and 39.706 kg of hydroponic marijuana. The officials arrested three people – Tushar Goyal, Himanshu Kumar, and Aurangzeb Siddiqui.
Two days later, another person, identified as Jatinder Singh Gill alias Jassi, was arrested at Amritsar airport. On October 5, a search for the Fortuner he used in Punjab revealed approximately 1.096 kg of drugs. According to court records, the vehicle belonged to Basoya’s brother, Ravinder.
On October 10, 208 kg of suspected drugs were recovered from Ramesh Nagar, Delhi. These drugs were concealed in packets of spicy snacks. Subsequently, on October 13, 518.18 kg of mephedrone was recovered from the premises of Aavkar Drug Pvt Ltd in Ankleshwar, Gujarat.
Combining these seizures, the investigation showed a total of 1,289 kg of cocaine/mephedrone and approximately 39.7 kg of hydroponic marijuana.
The investigation continued, and in January 2026, a man, identified as Tilak Prasad Sharma, was arrested in Sikkim on charges of involvement in the same syndicate. A total of 14 accused have been arrested in the case, and the Delhi Police filed a charge sheet in court.
The probe revealed that several companies such as Pharma Solution Services, RM Biochem, and Life Saver Pharma were used to supply drugs. Through pharmaceutical and chemical companies in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, the drugs were processed and then shipped under the guise of medical consignments. Subsequently, they were supplied to other cities, including Delhi-NCR, it said.
The drugs were allegedly shipped sometimes hidden in chemical consignments, sometimes in cardboard boxes, between clothes or packets of snacks.
The network’s supplies reached Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Goa, and some of the drugs were allegedly consumed at parties and music events, the probe revealed.
According to the police, the entire network had links to foreign countries, and Basoya and Sandip Sansar Dhune were identified as its alleged kingpins. The foreign connections extended to the UK, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Dubai. The drugs were brought to India mainly from South America via Dubai.
Investigating agencies said that the drug network used various secure and coded methods instead of direct phone conversations. They used paid and encrypted apps and made payments through cryptocurrency. Locations and pickup points were also shared for drug delivery.
