Wanted drug trafficker Virender Singh Baisoya was brought back to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday, August 14, nearly two years after he allegedly fled the country following the emergence of his name in major narcotics cases.
Baisoya, also known as Viru, was arrested in the UAE in June 2026 after an INTERPOL Red Notice was issued at the request of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Indian agencies coordinated with UAE authorities to secure his return, and he was taken into NCB custody after arriving at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The NCB said Baisoya was brought back under Operation GLOBAL-HUNT, which focuses on locating and pursuing major drug traffickers and fugitives operating from overseas.
Baisoya is an accused in the Rs 6,000-crore Pune drug case and also figures in a separate Delhi Police Special Cell investigation into international cocaine trafficking. The Indian Express reported that the wider Delhi case involved drugs estimated to be worth around Rs 13,000 crore.
Pune mephedrone case
The Pune case began in February 2024 with the seizure of 500 grams of mephedrone. Subsequent operations resulted in the recovery of approximately 867 kg of the drug in Pune and 970 kg in Delhi, according to the NCB.
The agency identified Baisoya as an alleged overseas operative and conspirator who coordinated the trafficking network from abroad and facilitated the movement of mephedrone consignments from India to other countries.
The investigation was later transferred to the NCB’s Mumbai Zonal Unit. A Pune court remanded Baisoya to NCB custody until Friday, August 21, after he was produced before it following transit remand proceedings in Delhi.
The prosecution told the court that his interrogation was necessary to establish the roles of other accused and assist the investigation into those who remain at large.
Delhi cocaine network
Baisoya’s name also emerged in a separate Delhi Police Special Cell investigation into an international cocaine trafficking network.
The case followed a series of seizures in October 2024 across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Police alleged that the network was involved in procuring, transporting, storing and distributing large quantities of narcotics.
According to investigative agencies, drugs were allegedly transported from South America to Dubai before being brought into India.
Ankleshwar in Gujarat was identified as a key hub, where investigators alleged that narcotics were processed under the cover of pharmaceutical and chemical business operations.
The consignments were subsequently moved to other parts of the country as medical or chemical shipments. Investigators alleged that the network supplied drugs to Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Goa.
The Indian Express reported that Delhi Police considered Baisoya an important missing link in the case and had been seeking to question him. The publication also reported that 14 people had been arrested in the investigation at the time of his return.
Separately, Hindustan Times reported that the Delhi Police Special Cell recovered 1,289 kg of cocaine in raids linked to the case, with the seized cocaine estimated to be worth around Rs 12,000 crore.
Baisoya’s background
Baisoya, a resident of Pillanji near Sarojini Nagar in south Delhi, had business interests including construction and property.
The Indian Express reported that investigators had also linked him to the alleged smuggling of imported cigarettes from Dubai before his name surfaced in the narcotics cases.
The publication further reported that Baisoya returned to India for his son’s wedding in Gurgaon in February 2024 before leaving the country again.
Amit Shah welcomes return
Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed Baisoya’s return, describing it as another milestone in the government’s zero-tolerance policy towards narcotics.
In a post on X on August 14, Shah said Indian agencies were pursuing drug traffickers hiding abroad and working to dismantle their networks. He said agencies had traced Baisoya using a “top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top” approach and asserted that those involved in drug trafficking could not escape Indian law.
