Former NSG commando part of 26/11 ops turns out to be drug kingpin, caught with 200 kg ‘gaanja’

Singh was caught from Ratangarh in Churu and was allegedly involved in smuggling ‘gaanja’ from Telangana and Odisha into Rajasthan. Nearly 200 kg of the substance was confiscated from him, said Inspector General of Police Vikas Kumar.

The “drug kingpin” hailed from Rajasthan’s Sikar district and carried a Rs 25,000 bounty, Kumar said.

Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) arrested a former National Security Guard (NSG) commando, who had participated in the 26/11 anti-terror operation in Mumbai, for allegedly being the kingpin of a cannabis smuggling racket, under ‘Operation Gaanjaney’, in Jaipur, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (PTI Photo)

How former NSG commando turned drug lord was caught

The arrest was a result of a collaborative effort between Rajasthan’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) and was codenamed ‘Operation Gaanjaney’.

One crucial tip that made the two-month operation a success was about a peculiar habit of the former NSG commando: He always travelled with a trusted Odiya cook.

The security agencies got hold of technical intelligence on the cook’s relatives, which led them to Singh’s hideout in Ratangarh, where the commando-turned-criminal was nabbed.

What drug kingpin’s arrest means

Due to the scope of his role, the police expect the arrest to help in tamping down the large-scale illegal drug trade from Odisha and Telangana into Rajasthan.

Singh had joined the NSG after finishing his Class 10 and went on to become a part of the commando crack team that responded to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.

It was after his retirement in 2021 that things started to unravel. Singh faced a political defeat, and turned to organised drug trafficking, quickly becoming a major trafficker dealing in large quantities of gaanja, the Rajasthan Police official said.

With inputs from PTI

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