Salim Dola, an alleged key mephedrone (MD) producer and close associate of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, who was detained in Turkey, was brought to India Tuesday morning. He landed at Delhi airport and was taken into custody by the Delhi Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
A Delhi NCB officer said they will first interrogate Dola, 59, and then hand him over to various states, including Maharashtra and Gujarat, where cases are registered against him.
After Dola was deported, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, “zero tolerance against Narco syndicate”.
“The @narcoticsbureau today made a major breakthrough in securing the return of notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola from Turkiye. Under Modi govt’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 wrote in a post on X.
Dola was detained in Istanbul Sunday in a joint operation by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization and the local police.
A Dongri resident, Dola had been operating from abroad after fleeing India nearly a decade ago, running a multi-state narcotics network.
Also Read | From Sangli to Surat, UAE and Turkey, how Mumbai police joined dots to reach drug lord
Dola’s role came into focus in 2024 after a Mumbai Police Crime Branch probe into a 4 kg MD seizure traced the supply chain from Sangli and Surat to the UAE and Turkey, where he allegedly directed operations through associates.
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Last year, his son, Taher, and nephew, Mustafa Mohammad Kubbawala, were deported from the UAE through Interpol, a move officials said had weakened his network.
A known figure to narcotics agencies, Dola has been linked to international cartels and was first arrested in 1998 with 40 kg of mandrax at Mumbai airport. Investigators believe he handled narcotics operations for the D-Company after Salim Mirchi.
He has also featured in major seizures, including a Rs 1,000 crore fentanyl haul and a DRI gutka smuggling case. Agencies say his syndicate funds MD production, supplies precursor chemicals and operates clandestine labs across Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The Narcotics Control Bureau earlier announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to his arrest.
