19 charge-sheeted for last year's 1,200kg drug bust in Delhi

Hindustan Times

15 hours ago

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has filed a 10,000-page chargesheet against 19 individuals, including a former Congress party worker, a Dubai-based fugitive, a British national, for allegedly running an international drug trafficking network that led to the seizure of 1,289kg of cocaine and over 40kg of marijuana in Delhi-NCR during a sweeping three-month-long crackdown last year.
The chargesheet, submitted at the Patiala House court on Thursday, estimated that the drugs were worth ₹13,000 crore. Of the 19 people accused, 14 were arrested during raids conducted last year.
The chargesheet mentions that five people are 'proclaimed offenders', but currently at large. This includes the alleged kingpin of the racket — Virender Basoiya, who is believed to be in Dubai, and his son Rishab. Police arrested Basoiya's younger brother Ravinder Basoiya from a hotel in east Delhi in December last year.
One of the first major busts came in October 2024, when the Special Cell raided a godown in Mahipalpur, south Delhi, seizing 562kg of cocaine and 40kg of Thai marijuana. The storage facility was owned by Tushar Goyal, a former Congress worker, who was arrested along with three others.
Goyal's interrogation led police to UK national Jitendra Pal Singh Gill, who was apprehended at the Amritsar airport. Gill, police said, had been dispatched to India by Basoiya to manage the consignment.
Several consecutive raids included one at the manufacturing unit of Gujarat-based company Aavkar Drugs in Ankleshwar. The company makes precursors for cough syrups.
The chargesheet states the drugs were made in Gujarat and Delhi. 'The raw materials were procured from five pharma companies in south India and Gujarat which have been sent notices. The drugs were smuggled by three shell companies created by Basoiya on forged identities. These firms were used for transactions and for buying raw materials and then selling them,' a senior police officer explained.
Police said the five pharma companies are not accused but witnesses in the case. 'Once the raw chemicals were procured fraudulently from the pharma companies, they were processed in Aavkar and then sent to Delhi in trucks and other vehicles via Uttar Pradesh. Goyal further mixed the chemicals with the cocaine mixture. This cocaine mixture came from South American countries via Dubai,' added the senior officer.
Police said Basoiya's family members have been named accused for 'handling the coordination' between key players in the nexus.
The Special Cell stated in the chargesheet that the drug ring has been running since February last year. Basoiya has also been accused in the Meow Meow drug case in which 1,700kg of cocaine, worth over ₹3,000 crore was traced to Delhi and Pune. The seizure was made by Mumbai Police.
Additionally, the chargesheet has shown technical evidence — mobile data records, CCTV footage, transaction records, digital footprints apart from the seizures.
'It is believed that Basoiya left India after the February drug hauls. There are some other key associates of Virender Basoiya who are also involved in the syndicate. Further investigation is on,' said another officer.