3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 17, 2026 05:45 AM IST
The arrests, made in a coordinated operation by multiple NIA teams last week, were made under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with other relevant sections.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested seven foreign nationals — six Ukrainian nationals and one from the United States — on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India.
The arrests, made in a coordinated operation by multiple NIA teams last week, were made under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with other relevant sections.
An FIR in the case was registered on Friday evening. The US national was detained by the Bureau of Immigration at Kolkata airport, and three Ukrainians each were detained at airports in Lucknow and Delhi.
A source said that the accused had entered India on valid visas, but had proceeded to Mizoram without the mandatory Restricted Area Permit.
“From there, they crossed into Myanmar, where they reportedly met ethnic groups hostile to India. Investigations also uncovered that multiple consignments of drones from Europe were delivered by them in Mizoram,” the source said.
The suspects were brought to Delhi and produced before the duty Magistrate on Saturday, who remanded them in three days’ custody. The suspects were remanded again on Monday until March 27, an extension of 11 days.
The NIA has alleged that the group was plotting terror strikes, and their movements had raised alarm over cross-border threats.
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“The aspects of collection of evidence, unearthing criminal conspiracy, identification of co-accused persons and analysis of mobile data of accused persons, are such that police custody of accused persons is justified,” Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Court said in his order.
According to the NIA, the accused were involved in illegally “importing huge consignments of drones from Europe to Myanmar via India” for the use of “Ethnic armed groups”. These groups were allegedly also supporting some proscribed “Indian Insurgent Groups by way of supplying weapons and other terrorist hardware and training them”.
The NIA, which was represented by SPP Rahul Tyagi, PP Anil Dabas, and advocates Jatin and Amit Rohilla, sought the remand of the accused persons to “collect more evidence to unearth the overall conspiracy of the present case hatched by the accused persons and their accomplices”.
They also submitted before the court that they wanted to “unearth the route opted” by the accused persons. The custody was also sought to analyse the mobile data to ascertain the alleged source of funding.
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The NIA also submitted that it wanted to “apprehend the close unknown associates still at large who are likely to surface after technical analysis of the social media accounts”.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More
Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security.
Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat.
During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More
The arrests, made in a coordinated operation by multiple NIA teams last week, were made under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with other relevant sections.
