In a major crackdown on international drug trafficking, Dubai-based Indian national Pawan Thakur has been arrested by UAE authorities, with deportation to India expected in the coming days.

The development, emerging from coordinated efforts between India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and global partners, targets the alleged architect of a ₹2,500 crore syndicate that blended narcotics smuggling with sophisticated money laundering.

Thakur, a Delhi native who relocated to Dubai around 2019, built his operations from the ground up.

He started as a hawala agent in the city’s Kucha Mahajani market, mastering informal money transfers before pivoting to large-scale drug imports.

From his base in the UAE, Thakur directed a network that routed consignments through Indian ports, inland by truck, and into Delhi warehouses for distribution.

Shell companies in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE masked transactions, while cryptocurrency and hawala channels funneled profits into luxury assets like a villa in Dubai Hills and high-end vehicles.

The syndicate’s unraveling began with a landmark November 2024 seizure of 82 kg of cocaine in Delhi, one of India’s largest, worth hundreds of crores.

Investigators pegged Thakur as the mastermind of its import, export, and trafficking.

He fled to Dubai with his family amid a non-bailable warrant from Delhi’s Patiala House Court, leaving five associates in custody. Undeterred, Thakur allegedly continued orchestrating from afar.

This week, the plot thickened with NCB’s interception of methamphetamine valued at ₹282 crore in Delhi on November 23, 2025.

Traced directly to Thakur’s instructions, the haul underscored his expansion into synthetic drugs alongside South American cocaine.

A pivotal September 2025 breakthrough came when NCB secured Interpol’s first Silver Notice issued at an Indian agency’s request.

This tool enabled asset tracing across borders, exposing Thakur’s financial web.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) followed up by freezing 118 mule bank accounts and probing over ₹681 crore in laundered funds via fake import-export docs, crypto, and falsified statements.

UAE officials, acting on shared intelligence, detained Thakur last week.

His arrest marks the fourth high-profile deportation secured by Indian agencies this year, highlighting strengthened India-UAE ties against cross-border crime.

Upon return, interrogations could expose accomplices, recover concealed assets, and disrupt emerging smuggling routes.

This case illuminates the shadowy fusion of underground finance and global trafficking, where hawala networks now rival formal banking in reach.

As Thakur’s empire faces collapse, it reinforces a clear message: no corner of the world offers impunity for such kingpins.