Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has made its first-ever seizure of Captagon tablets worth ₹182 crore, which he described as a “Jihadi drug.” Shah said on X that a foreign national was arrested and the consignment, allegedly destined for West Asia, was intercepted under Operation Ragepill.
The drug was seized from Mundra Port and Delhi’s Neb Sarai. The Syrian national had hidden it in a tea leaves box. At the Mundra port, it had arrived in a container declared as a wool consignment, people aware of the matter said.
Sharing details on X, the home minister said: “Modi govt is resolved for a ‘Drug-Free India’. Glad to share that through ‘Operation RAGEPILL’, our agencies have achieved the first-ever seizure of Captagon, the so-called “Jihadi Drug”, worth ₹182 crore. The busting of the drug consignment destined for the Middle East and the arrest of a foreign national stand out as shining examples of our commitment to zero tolerance against drugs. I repeat, we will clamp down on every gram of drugs entering India or leaving the country using our territory as the transit route. Kudos to the brave and vigilant warriors of the NCB.”
The NCB is likely to issue a detailed statement on the case.
What is the Jihadi drug?
Captagon is a highly addictive synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant. It earned the nickname “Jihadi drug” because militant groups (such as ISIS) have reportedly misused it to provide combatants with increased energy, endurance, and a reduced sense of fear in battle. It is also known as the “poor man’s cocaine.”
Agencies are probing the alleged terror links of the Syrian national, who was working from Delhi and sending the drugs to West Asia.
“The seizure has been made from Delhi and Mundra Port. Around 200 kg of Captagon had come from Syria and was being sent to Saudi Arabia. The investigation is on,” an officer aware of the matter said.
₹11,311 crore seized in 19 busts
Over the last few years, multiple agencies have busted large consignments of narcotics and other prohibited items at ports across the country. Drugs worth ₹11,311 crore were seized from seaports in 19 major drug busts between 2020 and 2024, according to a reply by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai to a Parliament question on March 18, 2025.
India has at least 200 major and minor ports, although only around 65 are currently engaged in cargo operations. At present, 13 major ports are under the cover of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the force is expected to soon take charge of security at 67 additional ports. To strengthen port security and curb smuggling activities, the Centre is in the process of setting up a new federal agency — the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) — on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
The proposed BoPS will ensure that ports are adequately protected, monitored either by CISF personnel or staff trained by the force, and maintain security standards comparable to those at airports. Across ports, the CISF will primarily oversee cargo screening, access control, and other critical security operations.
Salim Dola arrested
In another major breakthrough, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had recently secured the return of notorious international drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola from Turkiye.
Dola, 58, was detained by the Turkish Intelligence Agency and the Beylikduzu police in Istanbul on April 25 following inputs from Indian agencies and based on a pending Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him.
“The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in close coordination with international and Indian intelligence agencies, has secured the return of wanted drug trafficker Mohammed Salim Dola from Türkiye, under Operation Global-Hunt. He was taken into custody on his arrival at IGI Airport, New Delhi, early this morning by NCB,” an earlier HT report quoted the ministry of home affairs (MHA) as saying in a statement.
Officials aware of the matter said that Dola, who had fled to the UAE from India nearly eight years ago, was trapped in Turkiye for the last two years after coming to Istanbul on a vacation in early 2024.
“While he was holidaying in Turkiye, the (Interpol) red corner notice was issued in 2024. His family including his son managed to leave the country and return to the UAE but he was trapped. He had been living alone in different places of Turkiye to avoid arrest,” an official said, requesting anonymity. “After his son was deported from the UAE last year, he had stopped communicating with his aides and family members to avoid arrest.”
He was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been absconding from the law enforcement agencies. Over the years, Dola had allegedly established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate across a number of countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, they said.
Stressing on zero tolerance against the narco syndicate, the Union home minister said on X after the extradition of Dola, “Under Modi government’s mission to ruthlessly smash drug cartels, our anti-narcotics agencies have extended their claws across borders through a robust network of global agencies.”
“Now, no matter where they hide, no place is safe for drug kingpins,” Shah said.
He was taken into custody on his arrival at IGI Airport, New Delhi, early this morning by the NCB. The federal anti-narcotics agency briefly questioned him too. A city court in Mumbai had sent him to NCB’s custody till May 8.
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