New Delhi, August 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has intensified its efforts against international drug networks by tracing and securing the extradition of four high-profile suspects based overseas under its ‘Operation Global Hunt’, senior officials said.
The action forms part of the Centre’s broader objective of making India drug-free, with enforcement agencies increasingly focusing on the masterminds who allegedly control narcotics operations from foreign locations rather than limiting investigations to domestic suppliers, dealers and distributors.
The four extradited suspects include Virender Singh Basoya, alleged to be a mastermind behind a ₹13,000-crore international drug cartel, who was brought back from the UAE; Salim Dola, described as a key operative linked to fugitive underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim, who was arrested in Malaysia and extradited through Türkiye; Prabhdeep Singh, who was extradited from Azerbaijan; and cross-border logistics supplier Ritik Bajaj, who was brought back from the UAE.
Officials said the NCB has been using a dual investigative approach that works both from the top down and from the bottom up to dismantle transnational narcotics networks.
Under the top-to-bottom approach, investigators identify suspected cartel leaders operating from abroad and use intelligence inputs, international cooperation and Interpol channels to locate them and build cases.
The bottom-to-top approach begins with the operational network in India. Local intelligence helps investigators identify suppliers, middlemen, dealers and logistics operators. Their arrests can generate digital, financial and communication evidence that investigators then trace upwards to mid-level handlers, distributors, entry-point managers and eventually alleged cartel bosses.
Officials said following the network in both directions has helped investigators link individual seizures and arrests to larger international narcotics operations.
“Tracing the chain upwards is one part of the challenge. The real success is when these persons are extradited to India,” an official said.
The agency has also strengthened coordination with foreign governments through sustained diplomatic engagement and intelligence sharing. Officials said detailed extradition requests supported by financial records, digital evidence and information on the alleged roles of suspects in organised drug trafficking have helped strengthen India’s cases.
They said diplomatic outreach had also helped convince international partners about the security risks and wider consequences of allowing suspected transnational drug syndicate leaders to remain in their jurisdictions.
Basoya, according to officials, is suspected of being a key figure in a ₹13,000-crore international cartel. Prabhdeep Singh was brought back from Azerbaijan, while Bajaj was extradited from the UAE. Dola, described as a major figure in the international narcotics network, was arrested in Malaysia and brought to India via Türkiye.
Officials said the strategy reflects an effort to treat the narcotics trade as an interconnected chain rather than as a series of isolated cases, with the ultimate objective of dismantling the wider cartel structure.
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