Interpol issues NCB's 'Silver Notice' against Dubai-based drug trafficker

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The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Thursday said it has got its first 'Silver Notice' published by Interpol, the global police body, against a Dubai-based Indian "drug trafficker" named Pawan Thakur.

Thakur is wanted by the federal anti-narcotics agency in connection with a case related to the recovery of 82 kgs of cocaine from Delhi in November 2024.

"The NCB, in close coordination with the Interpol, has successfully published a first Silver Notice and that is against an accused named Pawan Thakur," the agency said in a statement.

Thakur is a "fugitive" and the "mastermind" behind the import, export, and trafficking of cocaine seized in last November in Delhi, it said.

"He arranged for the consignment's import through an Indian port and facilitated its onward movement to Delhi by road.

"His associates managed warehousing and custodianship of the contraband in Delhi, while he personally mediated among handlers to ensure smooth distribution," the NCB said.

The 'Silver Notice' came into being in January this year and is one amongst the eight types of colour-coded notices published by the Lyon-based Interpol.

The 'Silver Notice' helps in identifying, locating, and tracing properties and assets acquired through criminal proceeds by the fugitive across member countries.

Interpol, an international police cooperation organisation, is conducting a pilot project for this notice with the participation of 52 member countries including India. The exercise is expected to continue till November this year.

The NCB alleged that Thakur operates a "hawala" network with bases in Dubai and Delhi, channelling illicit funds and laundering proceeds of narcotics trafficking into the formal financial system through his associates.

He is currently residing in Dubai and continues to operate his narcotics trafficking and money laundering syndicate from there, it said.

The NCB has filed a chargesheet against Thakur before a court in Delhi. Officials told PTI that he is understood to have been based in Dubai since 2019.