India Secures Extradition of Virender Singh Basoya from United Arab Emirates on August 14, 2026

Key facts

• Wanted drug trafficker Virender Singh Basoya was brought back from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and arrested at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 14, 2026.
• Basoya was arrested in the UAE in June 2026 pursuant to an International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Red Notice issued against him in November 2025 at the request of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
• He is the prime accused in the seizure of 1,837 kg of mephedrone in Pune in 2024, with the drugs valued at around Rs 6,000 crore.
• Basoya fled to Dubai a day after the Pune case in February 2024 and stayed at various locations in the UAE.
• He was also wanted in a Delhi Police case registered in October 2024 involving the seizure of more than 1,300 kg of mephedrone, cocaine and hydroponic weed.
• A chargesheet has been filed against Basoya in the Pune case.
• Extradition and deportation proceedings were initiated under the India-UAE Extradition Treaty, which was signed in 1999.
• The operation involved the Ministry of Home Affairs, NCB, Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
• Basoya's interrogation also brought up a 2009 Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) case involving ketamine smuggling, for which he had previously been jailed.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah described Basoya's return as a new milestone in the government's zero-tolerance approach to narcotics.