It was upon the request of CBI that the Interpol issued a Red Corner notice against Dola. Screengrab: ANI
Dawood Ibrahim's aide Salim Dola deported from Turkey, brought to Delhi in drug case
Key Dawood aide, accused in multiple narcotics cases, was detained in Turkey and extradited to India as agencies probe his role in a cross-border drug network
Gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s close aide, Salim Dola (59), was deported to India from Turkey on Tuesday (April 28) morning and handed over to the concerned authorities.
Detained in Turkey, brought to Delhi
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the Turkish Intelligence agency and the Beylikduzu police detained Dola on Saturday after receiving inputs from Indian agencies.
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After Dola arrived at the technical area of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, he was taken into custody by agencies for further interrogation. The report further stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation had facilitated Dola’s extradition from Turkey.
It was upon the request of the Central agency that the Interpol issued a Red Corner notice against Dola, who was wanted by the Mumbai Police and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in various cases.
Drug network role, past record
The agencies stated that Dola, a key aide of Dawood, used to run his drug network. He had recently got involved in mephedrone manufacturing in illegal laboratories in several states. The arrested, active since the 1980s, was residing in Beylikduzu under a false identity.
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The accused, a resident of Mumbai’s Dongri area, has figured in multiple narcotics cases over the years and had earlier been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Mumbai Police, and the NCB before he allegedly jumped bail and left the country around 2018.
Recent case links and family angle
“Dola could be handed to the NCB or the Mumbai police. Both agencies have cases against him. He has been active for more than three decades now. His network’s activities have been under surveillance for the past few months,” said an official as quoted in the report.
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Investigators from the Mumbai police have also linked him to a 2024 case involving the seizure of nearly 126 kg of mephedrone in the city, with the probe tracing the supply chain stretching from Maharashtra to Turkey and Dubai. Those arrested in connection with the case have identified him as the key figure overseeing both production and distribution.
His son, Tahir Salim Dola, who was also named in the case, was brought back from the UAE last year in an operation facilitated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Earlier arrests and smuggling cases
Court documents show that Dola’s first arrest dates back to July 28, 1998, when he was intercepted at Mumbai’s Sahara airport while attempting to smuggle Mandrax tablets.
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Nearly two decades later, in 2017, the DRI arrested him again after seizing close to 1,00,000 gutka pouches valued at over Rs 5 crore, allegedly meant to be shipped to Kuwait by sea. The consignment was intercepted at Pipavav port in Gujarat, as well as from a storage facility in the national capital.
Amit Shah lauds arrest
Taking to X, Union Minister Amit Shah stated that "Under Modi government'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 said.