Dubai-based drug trafficker Pawan Thakur, accused of orchestrating one of India’s biggest cocaine seizures last year, has been arrested and is set to be deported to India, media reported.
Officials cited in the report said Thakur’s arrest marks a major breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into a massive narcotics trafficking network that allegedly directed the movement of high-value cocaine consignments into the country.
According to the report, investigators have established that the cocaine consignment linked to Thakur was first routed through an Indian port. After entering the country, it was transported by truck to the national capital, where it was stored inside a warehouse for distribution to handlers.
Officials described the operation as one of the most sophisticated drug trafficking mechanisms uncovered in recent years, with Thakur allegedly directing key stages of the supply chain from abroad.
In September this year, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had secured Interpol’s first-ever Silver Notice issued at the initiative of an Indian investigative agency, targeting Thakur in connection with the recovery of around 82 kg of cocaine in Delhi in November 2024.
The NCB had said that the Silver Notice was published through close coordination with Interpol and was expected to assist agencies across member countries in identifying, locating, and tracing assets linked to Thakur’s alleged criminal proceeds.
The report further quoted the NCB as saying that Thakur had emerged as the “mastermind" behind the import, export, and trafficking of the seized cocaine.
It claimed that he not only arranged the consignment’s entry through an Indian port but also facilitated its movement by road to Delhi.
His associates, the NCB said, managed warehousing and custodianship in the capital, while Thakur personally mediated between various handlers to ensure that the distribution process remained uninterrupted.
Investigations referenced in the IANS report also revealed that Thakur allegedly operated a hawala network with bases in Dubai and Delhi.
The NCB stated that this channel was used to move illicit funds generated from narcotics trafficking and launder them into the formal financial system through his associates.
Thakur resided in Dubai and continued to operate his narcotics and money-laundering syndicate from there.
The NCB has consistently maintained that it is working with international partners to dismantle organised drug syndicates and choke their financial networks.
