India brings fugitive drug kingpin Virender Singh Basoya back from UAE; Amit Shah calls it ‘new milestone’

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has secured the return of fugitive drug kingpin Virender Singh Basoya from the United Arab Emirates, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday, calling the development a “new milestone” in the government’s zero-tolerance policy against narcotics.

In a post on X, Shah said the Modi government was “relentlessly tracking down drug traffickers hiding abroad” and dismantling their networks.

“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,” Shah said.

Basoya has been accused of masterminding an international drug trafficking syndicate.

Shah’s three-year plan to tackle drug trade

In June, Shah unveiled the government’s Vision Document on Drug Control (2026-2029) and the Narcotics Control Bureau Annual Report 2025 alongside a three-year national strategy aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks.

Shah said the Centre would target the entire narcotics ecosystem with such force that it would be unable to recover for decades.

More than 40 ministries and government departments are part of the plan, which seeks to combat drug trafficking through coordinated enforcement, intelligence gathering, prevention and rehabilitation measures.

The Home Minister also said the government was examining loopholes in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and reviewing the classification of precursor chemicals and psychotropic substances used in the manufacture of illegal drugs.