Drug kingpin Virender Singh Basoya sent to NCB custody till August 21

Virender Singh Basoya (in white) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after his extradition from the UAE. (File Photo)

A Pune court Sunday remanded international drug syndicate kingpin Virender Singh Basoya, who was recently extradited from the UAE, in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) till August 21.

Basoya was produced before a court in Pune on Sunday afternoon by an NCB team amidst heavy police presence after he was flown to Pune from Delhi. Earlier, the NCB had obtained a three-day transit remand from a court in Delhi for him to be taken to Pune for seeking NCB custody.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in an X post on Friday, “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. The Modi government is relentlessly tracking down drug traffickers hiding abroad and destroying their entire ecosystem with a ruthless approach.”

Basoya is alleged to be a mastermind in several high-profile narcotics cases in India which have international links. The NCB is currently investigating his role in a major drugs syndicate unearthed by the Pune City police’s Crime Branch in February 2024.

In one of the biggest-ever drug hauls in the country till date, the Pune City police’s Crime Branch had seized around 1,800 kilogram of Mephedrone worth Rs 3,700 crore in several raids conducted at a chemical manufacturing factory in Daund taluka, two godowns in Pune’s Vishrantwadi, some shops in South Extension in New Delhi and some more places in Sangli district.

The probe had unveiled a sophisticated production line for the synthetic stimulant, being run from a chemical factory disguised as a pharmaceutical unit at an industrial cluster in Kurkumbh in Daund. The probe had also revealed that consignments were being sent to London through a courier agency in Delhi. The investigation of the case was taken over by the Mumbai unit of the NCB.

At the heart of this investigation is its alleged mastermind, Sundip Dhunia, a British national of Indian origin, who is believed to have fled from India to a West Asian country via Nepal some time before the crackdown by the Pune police began in 2024. A Red Corner Notice through Interpol (International Criminal Police Organisation) has been issued against him. Basoya is alleged to be linked to Dhunia.

Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More

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