Mastermind of Rs 2,500 crore cocaine haul held in Dubai, deportation soon

Investigators say he used hawala, crypto and shell firms to route black money

November 25, 2025

Drug trafficker Pawan Thakur caught in Dubai after massive seizures in Delhi

The drug kingpin had fled to Dubai and continued operations from luxury properties.

Pawan Thakur, a Dubai-based drug trafficker accused of orchestrating one of India’s largest cocaine seizures in 2024, has been arrested and will soon be deported to India, officials said.

Thakur is believed to be the key mastermind behind the smuggling of nearly 82 kilograms of high-grade cocaine worth about ₹2,500 crore, intercepted in Delhi in November 2024. Investigators said the consignment was routed through an Indian port and transported by truck to the capital, where it was stored in a warehouse for distribution.

Officials also linked Thakur to a major methamphetamine seizure worth ₹282 crore made earlier this week by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Investigators believe he had been operating for years in the hawala and money-laundering ecosystem, using it to support his narcotics network.

According to officials, Thakur began as a hawala agent in Delhi’s Kucha Mahajani market before expanding into high-value narcotics trafficking. His financial expertise allegedly helped him manage illicit cash flow through a complex hawala system involving cryptocurrency transactions and cross-border shell companies in India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE.

The NCB had issued an international Silver Notice against Thakur in September, enabling global agencies to trace his assets and business operations across jurisdictions.

In a parallel investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing allegations that Thakur’s syndicate laundered more than ₹681 crore through fake import-export records, crypto transfers and falsified financial statements. The ED had earlier frozen 118 mule accounts linked to him after conducting multiple raids.

Thakur reportedly ignored several ED summons, prompting Delhi’s Patiala House Court to issue a non-bailable warrant. After the large drug seizure in Delhi last year and the arrest of five of his associates, Thakur and his family fled to Dubai, where officials say he continued to run his drug and money-laundering network. He is also believed to have acquired multiple properties and luxury vehicles there, including a villa in the upscale Dubai Hills estate.

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