3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 13, 2026 09:26 PM IST
After remaining absconding for three years, transnational narcotics operative — Prabhdeep Singh — has been brought back from Baku, Azerbaijan by the Delhi Police Special Cell, in coordination with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), police said on Wednesday.
Prabhdeep, also known as ‘Harry,’ was wanted in a high-profile Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case involving the recovery of 358-kg of heroin and had absconded from India in 2023, officers said.
According to sources in the police, Prabhdeep was posted with a paramilitary force at the time when his name surfaced in the transnational drug syndicate.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Praveen Tripathi said Prabhdeep played a key role in handling the India-based operations of an international drug syndicate allegedly run by Turkey-based kingpin Navpreet Singh alias ‘Nav’. Navpreet is also Prabhdeep’s cousin, the DCP said.
“He acted as a conduit between Navpreet and other accused, including Gurpreet Singh and Gurjot Singh, from whom massive consignments of heroin were recovered in 2021. Prabhdeep monitored narcotics consignments and maintained regular communication with members of the syndicate,” the officer said.
The case originated on July 5, 2021, after Special Cell officers received information that Rizwan Ahmed alias Rizwan Kashmiri was involved in drug trafficking across Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Rizwan was arrested in Delhi’s Ghitorni area with 1 kg heroin, leading investigators to uncover a wider interstate and international narcotics network, in the same month.
Subsequent raids in Faridabad resulted in the seizure of 166 kg heroin from a Hyundai Verna, 115 kg from a Honda Amaze, and another 70 kg of heroin and psychotropic substances from rented premises linked to the accused. An Afghan national, Hazrat Ali, was also arrested from Gurugram with 2 kg heroin and chemicals allegedly used in processing narcotics.
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A three-member Special Cell team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vivek Tyagi, along with Inspector Sanjay Gupta and Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar, travelled to Azerbaijan to secure his extradition and escort him back to India, officers said.
The police said a trial against 10 accused in the case, including one Afghan national, is currently underway. Further questioning of Prabhdeep is expected to reveal additional links in the transnational drug network, officers added.
