Hardened narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh, wanted in several narcotics cases and on the run for years, was deported from Türkiye and brought back to India on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced via a social media post.

“Obtaining Turkish citizenship under the fake identity of Navab Virk, he [Singh] had continued to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine to India from Afghanistan. Our agencies tracked him down, ripping apart veil after veil to unmask his true identity, and secured his deportation. Today he has been brought back to India and put behind bars in connection with cases involving drug trafficking and other crimes he is accused of. Congratulations to all the agencies for this success,” Shah wrote on X.

Hailing the development as a “historic milestone”, the minister added that the “Modi govt is committed to destroying every narco-cartel before Dec 2029”.

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A native of Punjab, Navpreet, also known as ‘Nav’, had been on the run for over two years. The 34-year-old is alleged to have headed a sprawling international narcotics syndicate whose India-based operations were run by his cousin, Prabhdeep Singh.

Prabhdeep, also known as ‘Harry’, was extradited from Azerbaijan on May 13 by the CBI, acting in coordination with the Delhi Police Special Cell.

Wanted in a narcotics case involving the seizure of 358 kg of heroin in 2021, Prabhdeep, who was posted with a paramilitary force at the time his name surfaced in the investigation, had been absconding since 2023.

India submitted its request for Navpreet’s extradition to Turkish authorities in 2023-24, sources familiar with the matter said.

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The deportation is the latest in a sustained campaign by the Modi government to bring fugitive offenders back to India – an effort Shah has described as intrinsically linked to the country’s sovereignty, economic stability, law and order, and national security.

In January 2025, Shah launched BHARATPOL – a unified platform integrating the CBI, State Police Headquarters (through Interpol Liaison Officers) and District Police Headquarters. More than 1,400 units of state and central agencies are now connected through the portal.

Officials say the platform has significantly compressed information-sharing timelines. Responses that once took months are now typically received from partner law enforcement agencies within 10 to 20 days, and in some cases within 3 to 10 days.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 288 fugitives from 36 countries have been brought back to India between 2019 and August 2026. Over the past three years, Interpol Red Corner Notices have been issued against 401 fugitive criminals – 40 in 2022, 100 in 2023, 107 in 2024, 112 in 2025, and 182 issued through July 2026.

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Through stringent enforcement of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the Centre has attached assets worth Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitive criminals between 2019 and 2026.