Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 14: Fugitive drug syndicate operative Virender Baisoya, an accused in the Rs 6,000-crore Pune drug case, has been brought back to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said on Friday.

Baisoya, who was arrested in Dubai, was brought to India on an Air India flight AI 4310.

He is reportedly a close associate of prime accused Sandeep Dhunia, who is believed to have travelled from Dubai to Pakistan. Baisoya had been on the radar of Indian investigative agencies, with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) having earlier issued a Red Corner Notice against him.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah welcomed the development, describing it as a major step in the Centre's crackdown on drug trafficking.

Shah said the government was relentlessly tracking drug traffickers hiding abroad and working to dismantle their networks.

"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," Shah said in a post on X.

He added that Indian agencies had once again demonstrated that drug traffickers could not escape the reach of Indian law regardless of where they sought refuge.

Baisoya's return comes days after wanted fugitive Vishakha Rathod was deported from the UAE and brought to India.

Rathod, wife of alleged Rs 88-crore fraud mastermind Avinash Rathod, was brought to Pune on August 3. She was wanted in connection with an alleged criminal conspiracy involving investment schemes that promised assured fixed monthly returns.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and UAE authorities in the case.

Vishakha Rathod was subject to an Interpol Red Corner Notice and was subsequently arrested before being deported to India. She is currently in the custody of the Maharashtra Police.