Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 25: Pawan Thakur, a Dubai-based narcotics trafficker and alleged mastermind behind one of India’s biggest cocaine seizures, has been arrested and will soon be deported to India, officials confirmed.
Thakur is accused of orchestrating the smuggling of nearly 82 kg of high-grade cocaine worth around Rs 2,500 crore, intercepted in Delhi in November 2024. Investigators said the consignment was first routed through an Indian port and then transported by truck to the capital, where it was stored in a warehouse for distribution.
Officials also stated that he masterminded the Rs 282-crore methamphetamine haul seized in Delhi earlier this week. Thakur is believed to have been a long-time operator in illicit hawala and money-laundering networks.
According to officials, Thakur began his career as a hawala agent in Delhi’s Kucha Mahajani market before expanding into large-scale drug trafficking. He allegedly used complex financial routes to hide illegal profits, including cryptocurrency transfers and cross-border shell companies operating across India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had issued an international Silver Notice against him in September, enabling global agencies to trace his assets and financial operations. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate is probing his syndicate for laundering over Rs 681 crore through fake import-export bills, manipulated financial statements, and crypto channels. The agency had earlier raided his properties and frozen 118 mule accounts linked to him.
Despite multiple summons, Thakur failed to appear before investigators, leading Delhi’s Patiala House Court to issue a non-bailable warrant.
Sources said that after last year’s massive drug bust and the arrest of five of his associates, Thakur fled with his family to Dubai, from where he continued to run his smuggling and money-laundering racket. He allegedly acquired multiple assets overseas, including luxury cars and a villa in the upscale Dubai Hills area.
