Drug kingpin Navpreet Singh deported from Türkiye and brought to India: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said alleged narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh has been deported from Türkiye and brought back to India.

In a post on X, Shah said Singh had obtained Turkish citizenship under the alleged fake identity of Navab Virk and continued to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine to India from Afghanistan.

Shah said Indian agencies tracked Singh and established his identity before securing his deportation. Singh has now been taken into custody in India in connection with drug-trafficking and other criminal cases, he said.

The Home Minister described the development as a “historic milestone” and congratulated the agencies involved in the operation.

Shah also said the government remained committed to dismantling narco-trafficking networks, stating that the Modi government aims to destroy every narco-cartel before December 2029.

The development comes as Indian agencies step up efforts to trace and bring back wanted drug traffickers operating from abroad. Earlier this year, authorities secured the return of drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola from Türkiye and fugitive drug trafficker Virender Singh Basoya from the UAE.

(PTI)