New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded the Modi government for securing the deportation of narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh from Turkey, describing it as a 'historic milestone'. HM Shah took to social media 'X' and said, "Modi govt has achieved a historic milestone by securing the deportation of hardened narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh from Türkiye."HM Shah said Singh had obtained Turkish citizenship using the fake identity of Navab Virk and continued to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine from Afghanistan to India."Obtaining Turkish citizenship under the fake identity of Navab Virk, he had continued to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine to India from Afghanistan. Our agencies tracked him down, ripping apart veil after veil to unmask his true identity, and secured his deportation. Today he has been brought back to India and put behind bars in connection with cases involving drug trafficking and other crimes he is accused of. Congratulations to all the agencies for this success," he said.

The Home Minister congratulated all the agencies involved in the operation and reiterated the government’s commitment to tackling drug trafficking."Modi govt is committed to destroying every narco-cartel before Dec 2029," HM Shah added.Earlier in April, close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim and suspected drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola was brought back to India from Turkey.HM Shah had then said that the Narcotics Control Bureau had achieved a breakthrough in securing Dola’s return from Turkey. He said Dola’s arrest reflected the government’s resolve to bring narcotics fugitives and members of organised crime syndicates to justice.

Earlier in May, the Delhi Police Special Cell, in coordination with the Central Bureau of Investigation had also extradited fugitive Prabhdeep Singh from Azerbaijan in connection with a major narcotics case involving the recovery of 358 kg of heroin.Prabhdeep, who had been absconding since 2023, was brought back to India from Baku by a three-member Special Cell team after completion of extradition formalities, police said.India and Turkey signed an extradition treaty in 2001, which came into force in June 2002. The agreement allows both countries to seek the transfer of fugitives wanted in terrorism and other serious criminal cases.In previous cases, Turkey has assisted India in deporting individuals linked to extremist networks, including suspected Islamic State operatives. Such cases are often coordinated through Interpol using Red Notices and other established procedures.

/IANS