New Delhi, August 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in coordination with State and Union Territory police forces and immigration authorities, will launch a fortnight-long nationwide campaign in the first week of September to identify foreign nationals illegally overstaying in India and suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.
The campaign, named “Trinetra”, will focus on intelligence-based identification and verification of such individuals, scrutiny of their immigration status and examination of their suspected links with drug trafficking networks, the NCB said in a statement.
Appropriate legal action will be taken in coordination with the concerned authorities, it added.
The initiative is part of the NCB’s broader network-centric strategy aimed at disrupting the individuals, facilitators and support systems that sustain organised and transnational drug trafficking networks in India.
The campaign follows the recent arrests of foreign nationals who were allegedly overstaying in India while operating a transnational narcotics network. The NCB said such cases highlight the need for enhanced vigilance regarding foreigners who remain in the country after the expiry of their visas and become involved in illegal activities.
The agency also stressed that hotels, guest houses, landlords and other accommodation providers must comply with statutory requirements governing the stay of foreign nationals, including timely submission of prescribed information to authorities under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
According to the NCB, such reporting serves not only immigration-related purposes but also helps law-enforcement agencies identify illegally overstaying foreign nationals and prevent their involvement in organised criminal activities.
The campaign comes as part of the government’s stated zero-tolerance policy towards drugs and its focus on dismantling entire trafficking networks rather than merely making individual seizures.
In a recent operation conducted over several weeks, the NCB, working with state police authorities, arrested five foreign nationals, including a woman, who were allegedly staying illegally in India and operating a transnational drug trafficking network from New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
The agency said narcotics and other contraband valued at nearly Rs 15 crore were seized during the operation.
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