On March 13, 2026, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a US national, Mathew Aaron VanDyke, along with six Ukrainian citizens, in an operation straight out of a film scene. The arrests were carried out across three airports — Kolkata, where VanDyke was apprehended, and Lucknow and Delhi, where three Ukrainian nationals were arrested at each location. The Ukrainian nationals were identified as: Petro Hurba, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk, and Viktor Kaminskyi. This group of seven were arrested for entering restricted areas in Mizoram, crossing into Myanmar, and engaging with insurgent-linked groups; and reportedly had plans to train militants and supply weapons, including drones, in a suspected cross-border terror network.

According to reports, the seven were remanded to 11 days of NIA custody by a Special NIA Court at Patiala House Courts in Delhi on March 16, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). RT India obtained and shared excerpts from two pages of the FIR, providing details including the names, passport numbers, and arrest locations of the accused. It is alleged that the group travelled to India's Mizoram without the Restricted Area Permit (RAP). They then illegally crossed into Myanmar. For entering most of India's north-east states, Indians require the Inner-Line Permit (ILP) and foreigners mandatorily need the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) or the Protected-Area Permit (PAP). According to reports, the seven foreigners contacted ethnic armed groups (EAGs), and engaged in training activities. These EAGs, the NIA said in its FIR, were linked to insurgent organisations in the Northeast.

For entering most of India's north-east states, foreigners mandatorily need the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) or the Protected-Area Permit (PAP)

The NIA has alleged that the group planned to supply weapons, train militants, and utilise drones imported from Europe to support training camps in Myanmar, focussing on drone warfare, operations, assembly, and jamming technology. The most notable arrest in the NIA's operation is that of Matthew Aaron VanDyke, best known for being a mercenary. He also identifies as an international security analyst, combat veteran, documentary filmmaker, and founder of Sons of Liberty International (SOLI). He first gained prominence during the 2011 Libyan Civil War; joining rebel forces fighting against Muammar Gaddafi's regime. He fought against ISIS in Iraq, assisted uprisings in Syria, and joined Ukrainian forces against the Russian invasion starting in 2022. He has conducted training programmes for Ukrainian civilians and military personnel in locations like Lviv and Kyiv, and released innovations such as counter-drone technologies for use in Ukraine. In the current NIA case that has linked him to activities in Myanmar that threaten Indian security, details are still under investigation.

Multiple intelligence reports subsequently emerged indicating that Matthew VanDyke was on the ground in Dhaka and was personally involved in the protests aimed at toppling Sheikh Hasina government Bangladesh. Moreover, he was present in a Bangladesh Army helicopter used to extract his trained snipers. Some of the snipers were seen wearing T-shirts marked with US insignia as they boarded the helicopter. Speculation is that this was because of elements within the Bangladesh Army in league with Pakistan's ISI.

That may be so, but the undeniable fact is that the coup in Bangladesh was orchestrated by the CIA, perhaps in concert with the ISI. Deployment of Western mercenaries in Ukraine to train Ukrainian and combat Russia is also coordinated by the CIA. With the CIA controlling the digital media and NGO's in Nepal, hashtags like #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal, #NepoKids, and #NepoBaby on social media inciting the revolt, as well as anti-India toolkit with hashtags like #BackoffIndia and #GoBackIndiahelped orchestrate the Gen Z revolt in Nepal, providing them with a strategy and training - including snipers?

The NIA has alleged that the group planned to supply weapons, train militants, and utilise drones imported from Europe to support training camps in Myanmar

But the arrest of Mathew Aaron VanDyke and the six Ukrainians have very serious implications for India's national security. The anti-junta operations if Myanmar are also coordinated by the ISI. Little wonder why Sergio Gor, US Ambassador to India is trying his level best to get Aaron VanDyke released, which he may even succeed given the current state of India-US relations, including the government supporting the US-Israel war against Iran. Ukraine is also protesting against the arrest of its six nationals.

These seven foreigners reportedly entered on tourist visas. But do we have a procedure to check the background of a notorious mercenary like Mathew Aaron VanDyke? Look at the checks the US has instituted now at all entry points. Who are their contacts in India and who helped them? Presence of American mercenaries in Myanmar has been reported since the takeover by the military junta. Have other similar groups been transiting through India? NIA apart, what have the RA&W, IB and State intelligence been up to – are they compromised?

The NIA investigation indicates that the seven men were part of a broader conspiracy to transport sophisticated drones and other Western weapons into Myanmar via India, effectively establishing a "tactical corridor" through India's northeastern borders; these individuals were able to enter India, reach its northeast with military equipment, cross into Myanmar, and then return through the same route without detection points to a serious intelligence and border management failure. Their successful movement of a large consignment of drones and related supplies through Mizoram suggests that external provisioning of arms to insurgent groups may be occurring. These developments imply that India's northeast risks becoming a permissive operating environment for foreign actors fuelling the Myanmar conflict.

Two US nationals were booked by the Kochi Police for flying a drone over sensitive military installations in Kochi

In another incident that should raise serious security concerns, two US nationals, identified as tourists, were booked by the Kochi Police for flying a drone over sensitive military installations in Kochi, which serves as a pivotal hub for India's maritime defence, housing key assets of both the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, including operational bases and strategic command centres, according to news reports of March 23, 2026. The case has been registered under the Aircraft Act, 1934, and Drone Rules, 2021, with investigations probing whether the flight was inadvertent tourism or something more calculated. We must be utterly foolish to think such actions are not pre-planned intelligence gathering operations – and part of an overall plan, considering that according to official records quoted in the media, over 200 incidents of similar drone sightings were reported in 2025 alone over defence zones across India, from naval bases in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam to airbases in the north.

Legal repercussions for these two US tourists include potential fines up to ₹1 lakh (a pittance for intelligence operations), equipment confiscation, and blacklisting from future drone operations in India. Why should foreign tourists by allowed to operate drones here in the first place? Have we learnt nothing from the Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley (born Dawood Sayed Gilani) taking photographs and performing surveillance in Mumbai to assist the 26/11 terrorist attacks, that we are now allowing foreigners to fly drones?

Finally, these are issues that the Union Government and the NSA need to seriously examine and act upon. India did little to crush the coups in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. These foreigners, part of America's deep state which has no love lost for India; deserve no concessions. Let us place our national security first.