The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has successfully deported Naveen Chickar, a key figure in a transnational drug trafficking ring, from Malaysia.

MUMBAI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has secured the deportation of a kingpin, Naveen Chickar, behind the transnational drug trafficking syndicate from Malaysia with the help of the Intelligence Bureau and Interpol. Chickar is the same person whose name even figured in the drug syndicate busted by the Navi Mumbai police.In April, Chickar’s builder father, Guru, committed suicide by shooting himself with his licensed weapon in Navi Mumbai, leaving a suicide note blaming the NCB and Belapur police for harassment. An NCB official said that Chickar’s arrest will help them break his nexus, and more moles who have been aiding and abetting him will be identified. Officials said the interrogation of the kingpin brought from Malaysia is likely to reveal more details of his operations, including the source of drugs in the USA.Chickar, who studied film and television as well as criminal psychology in London, was running the cartel’s operations while staying outside the country. The modus operandi is that the cartel primarily deals in cocaine and hybrid strain hydroponic weed, smuggling these substances into Mumbai via air cargo shipments from the US. “Once in Mumbai, the drugs were distributed across various states in India. Investigations have also revealed that apart from selling drugs locally, the cartel was re-exporting them to foreign markets, including Australia,” an officer of the NCB said.It all started with the seizure of about 200 grams of cocaine hidden in a projector from a parcel being sent from Mumbai to Australia through DHL Courier in January this year, leading to the arrest of eight individuals. Following a bottom-to-top approach during the investigation of the case, the NCB further affected the seizure of 11.540 kilograms of cocaine, 4.9 kilograms of cannabis, and 5.5 kilograms of cannabis gummies from the house of one of the members of the syndicate in Navi Mumbai.The investigation disclosed a well-oiled transnational syndicate involved in the trafficking of cocaine from the USA to India and its further distribution within India and outside. The investigation further revealed the involvement of a Clearing House Agent (CHA) and hawala operators. “A total of eight persons have been arrested so far, and the kingpin, who located himself in Thailand in 2021 after absconding from an earlier case of the NCB regarding trafficking of LSD, was located in Malaysia subsequent to the Red Notice issued by the NCB recently and has been brought to India. The investigation in this case has already revealed that the syndicate was operating for at least one year, and multiple consignments of cocaine to air cargo were received in Mumbai during this period,” stated a note released by the NCB.Financial investigation in the case has already led to the identification of assets, including properties and bank accounts in Thailand. Efforts are ongoing for the attachment of these properties.