Amit Shah Hails “Historic” Deportation of Heroin-Meth Smuggler From Türkiye

Navpreet Singh allegedly used a fake Turkish identity to smuggle heroin and meth into India from Afghanistan

October 3, 2026

India deports narco kingpin Navpreet Singh from Turkey — "historic milestone," says Amit Shah

Shah reiterates government’s pledge to dismantle every narco-cartel before December 2029

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Saturday that India has secured the deportation of Navpreet Singh, a narcotics-trafficking kingpin who had been operating out of Turkey under a fake identity, calling it a “historic milestone” for the Modi government.

“Modi govt has achieved a historic milestone by securing the deportation of hardened narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh from Türkiye,” Shah said in a post on X, adding that Singh had been brought back to India and put behind bars in connection with drug trafficking and other alleged crimes. “Our agencies tracked him down, ripping apart veil after veil to unmask his true identity, and secured his deportation,” he said, thanking the agencies involved.

A fake identity and a cross-border network

According to Shah, Singh — also known as Nav Bhullar — had obtained Turkish citizenship under the fake identity of Navab Virk and used that cover to continue smuggling heroin and methamphetamine into India from Afghanistan. Investigators had identified him as the Turkey-based kingpin of a trafficking network, while his cousin Prabhdeep Singh served as its operational link within India.

The probe that eventually led to Singh traced back through multiple countries: Prabhdeep Singh was extradited from Azerbaijan earlier this year by a Delhi Police Special Cell and CBI team in connection with a case involving the recovery of 358 kg of heroin, after having been absconding since 2023. That investigation subsequently led to major heroin seizures in Faridabad and helped establish the broader contours of the network, which Amritsar police separately linked to a narco-hawala racket busted with the arrest of three operatives and the seizure of 1.10 kg of heroin and over Rs 1 crore in hawala cash.

Part of a broader crackdown

India and Turkey signed an extradition treaty in 2001, which came into force in June 2002; Turkey has previously assisted India in deporting individuals linked to extremist networks, including suspected Islamic State operatives. Shah noted that a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim and suspected drug trafficker, Mohammad Salim Dola, had similarly been brought back to India from Turkey in April.

Shah reiterated the government’s broader commitment to the fight against narcotics networks, saying the “Modi govt is committed to destroying every narco-cartel before December 2029.”

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