NIA Custody for 7 Foreigners in Drone Plot
US national, six Ukrainians held for alleged training of armed groups in drone warfare
- Delhi court grants NIA 11-day custody of seven foreign nationals
- American and six Ukrainians accused in drone warfare conspiracy
- Probe links suspects to training ethnic armed groups
- Digital evidence, funding trails under investigation
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 17th March: A Delhi court has granted 11-day custody of seven foreign nationals, including an American, to the National Investigation Agency in connection with an alleged conspiracy to train ethnic armed groups in drone warfare.
The accused were produced before the Patiala House Court on Tuesday. While the agency had sought 15 days of custody, the court allowed 11 days. The next hearing is scheduled for March 27.
The American national, Matthew VanDyke, was arrested from Kolkata. The six Ukrainian nationals — Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor — were apprehended from Lucknow and Delhi.
According to investigators, at least 14 Ukrainian nationals had entered India on tourist visas and later travelled to Guwahati and Mizoram before allegedly crossing into Myanmar without valid documentation. The agency suspects the group was involved in conducting pre-planned drone warfare training for ethnic armed groups, believed to have links with insurgent and terrorist networks operating within India.
Officials also indicated that large consignments of drones were allegedly routed from Europe to Myanmar via India, intended for use by these groups.
During the hearing, the NIA informed the court that forensic analysis of seized mobile phones and other digital evidence is underway. The agency stressed the need to take the accused to multiple locations to reconstruct movement patterns, identify local and international associates, and trace financial transactions linked to the operation.
The court directed that the accused undergo medical examination every 48 hours. It also permitted them to hold virtual meetings with lawyers or relatives for 20 minutes on alternate days.
The case has raised serious concerns over the misuse of tourist visas and the potential use of Indian territory as a transit point for cross-border insurgent activities involving advanced technology such as drones.
