Pawan Thakur, a Dubai-based drug trafficker, is currently under investigation by India’s central probe agencies for orchestrating one of the country’s largest cocaine seizures. Officials say he is the mastermind behind the smuggling of 82 kilograms of high-grade cocaine, valued at approximately Rs 2,500 crore, which was intercepted in Delhi in November 2024. The consignment was reportedly routed through an Indian port before being transported by truck to Delhi, where it was stored in a warehouse for distribution.
Thakur is also believed to be behind a recent methamphetamine seizure worth Rs 282 crore in Delhi, according to authorities. Investigators indicate that he has been a long-time operator in the hawala and money laundering business, using financial networks to conceal illicit earnings.
Officials trace Thakur’s operations back to Delhi’s Kucha Mahajani market, where he began as a hawala agent before expanding into large-scale narcotics trafficking. Black money from his drug trade was routed through an elaborate hawala system, involving cryptocurrency transactions and cross-border shell companies in India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) issued an international Silver Notice against Thakur in September, enabling global law enforcement to trace his assets, businesses, and financial operations across multiple jurisdictions.
Alongside the NCB investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing Thakur’s alleged money laundering of over Rs 681 crore using fake import-export documentation, crypto transfers, and falsified financial statements. ED raids have resulted in the freezing of 118 mule accounts linked to Thakur.
Despite multiple summons, Thakur failed to appear before the authorities, prompting Delhi’s Patiala House Court to issue a non-bailable warrant. Sources say that after the 2024 Delhi cocaine seizure and the arrest of five associates, Thakur and his family fled to Dubai, from where he continued managing his smuggling and laundering network. He reportedly owns multiple properties and luxury vehicles in Dubai, including a villa in the upscale Dubai Hills estate.
