New Delhi, April 28: Salim Dola, a close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and a key figure in an international drug syndicate, was deported to India on Tuesday, officials said, in what authorities describe as a major step in the country’s crackdown on transnational narcotics networks.
According to sources, Dola was brought to Delhi airport in the early hours aboard a special aircraft after a coordinated operation involving Indian intelligence agencies and international counterparts. Officials said the deportation followed sustained investigative efforts and close cross-border collaboration.
Sources said Dola is being interrogated by intelligence agencies in Delhi and will later be handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Mumbai for further questioning. He is expected to face probes linked to large-scale drug trafficking and international smuggling.
Dola was arrested in Istanbul in a joint operation by Turkish law enforcement and intelligence units. His detention was reportedly based on an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued at the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Mumbai Police and other Indian agencies had been seeking his custody for years in connection with multiple narcotics-related cases.
The deportation follows a string of recent actions against the network: in June 2025, Dola’s son, Taher Dola, was extradited from the United Arab Emirates, and months later associate Salim Mohammed Sohail Shaikh was deported from Dubai and arrested by the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell. Officials say these moves indicate a tightening of pressure on the syndicate.
Investigators estimate Dola ran a drug empire worth about Rs 5,000 crore, making him one of the syndicate’s most significant operatives. Authorities believe proceeds from narcotics trafficking were used to fund activities detrimental to India’s security interests. Security experts have stressed that dismantling such narco-networks is an important element of counter‑terrorism, since criminal syndicates can underpin extremist financing.
Probes so far suggest the network operated a transnational synthetic drug trafficking system across several countries and established laboratories and manufacturing units in parts of India to produce and distribute illegal substances. Born in Mumbai in 1966, Dola is said to have entered the underworld young and worked closely with Dawood’s lieutenant Chhota Shakeel.
Dola’s criminal record includes an NCB arrest in 2012 after 80 grams of weed were recovered; he spent five years in custody before being acquitted. After his release he allegedly set up a unit to manufacture a synthetic drug known as “Button,” made using fentanyl. In 2018 he was arrested in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, after 100 kg of fentanyl was seized, but was out on bail four months later when forensic tests reportedly returned negative; he subsequently fled to the UAE while on bail. IANS
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/04/28/gangster-dawood-ibrahims-aide-salim-dola-deported-to-india-will-be-handed-over-to-ncb/
Category: NATIONAL,News Alert
Tags:
Publish Date: 2026-04-28 13:46:00
