New Delhi, Apr 28 (NVI): In a well-coordinated operation, Indian authorities have secured deportation of transnational drug trafficking kingpin Salim Dola, who is also a close associate of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, from Turkey.
59-year-old Dola, who hails from Mumbai, was brought here this morning and formally arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials.
He was brought from Turkey where he had been detained three days back by the country’s authorities on the basis of inputs provided by the Indian intelligence agencies.
He was living in Beylikduzu in Turkey under a false identity.
Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against Dola at the request of CBI, the nodal agency for Interpol in India, as he was wanted by the NCB and Mumbai Police in various cases.
According to sources, Dola is a key operative who runs Dawood’s drug network and had recently entered mephedrone manufacturing at clandestine laboratories across different states.
He has been active since the 1980s, particularly in Mumbai’s Dongri area and has been linked to many drug busts.
He was earlier arrested by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai Police, and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) before he jumped bail and fled the country sometime in 2018.
The Mumbai police found his involvement in a 2024 case related to the seizure of around 126 kg of mephedrone in Mumbai and traced the supply chain from Maharashtra to Turkey and Dubai.
“Salim Dola (59 yrs from Mumbai), a subject of INTERPOL Red Notice issued at India’s request in March, 2024, was wanted for prosecution in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been absconding from Indian law enforcement agencies,” the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
“Over the years, Dola had established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate spanning several countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. His two-decade-long criminal antecedents include direct involvement in cases involving multiple high-value seizures of Heroin, Charas, Mephedrone, Mandrax and Methamphetamine in Maharashtra and Gujarat,” the Ministry of Home Affairs added.
“Dola’s role consistently emerged as that of a bulk supplier to downstream distribution networks in India. Besides, he is also wanted by ATS Gujarat and the Mumbai Police. Earlier, his son Tahil Salim Dola and other associates were arrested by Mumbai police after deportation/extradition from the UAE in 2025. This effort exemplifies close cooperation and coordinated action between the authorities in Turkiye, INTERPOL and Indian agencies,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
