Dawood Ibrahim aide Mohammad Salim Dola deported to India in NCB’s Operation Global-Hunt

A close aide of Dawood Ibrahim, Mohammad Salim Dola, was on Tuesday brought back to India after he was detained in Istanbul on April 26.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in coordination with international and Indian intelligence agencies, secured the return of the wanted drug trafficker from Turkiye under “Operation Global-Hunt”, official sources said. Dola was taken into custody on his arrival at the IGI Airport, New Delhi, by the anti-narcotics agency.

The process of bringing Dola to Indian soil was accelerated by his use of a forged UAE passport. As India does not have a direct extradition treaty with Turkiye, Indian agencies successfully worked with the UAE to facilitate his transfer. Following diplomatic coordination involving the Turkish and UAE authorities, Dola was flown into New Delhi on Tuesday morning.

This followed the successful deportation of Dola’s son, Taher Dola, in 2025, whose interrogation provided vital inputs, which subsequently led the authorities to Dola’s hideout in Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district.

The 59-year old Dola, an Interpol subject, was brought back after a Red Notice was issued at India’s request in March 2024. The sources said he was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India.

His arrest was the result of a joint operation carried out by Turkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation in collaboration with the local police, targeting a transnational synthetic drug trafficking network allegedly linked to the Indian underworld, the sources said.

Over the years, Dola had established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate spanning a number of countries in West Asia, 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.

Dola’s role consistently emerged as that of a bulk supplier to downstream distribution networks in India. Besides, he was also wanted by the ATS, Gujarat, and the Mumbai police.

The deportation comes just days after Dola was held in Istanbul on April 26, where he had reportedly been operating under a false identity using forged documents to evade law enforcement agencies.

According to intelligence sources, Dola played a crucial role in managing overseas narcotics operations for D-Company.

A Dongri resident, Dola had been running a multi-state narcotics network from abroad after fleeing India nearly a decade ago. His role came into focus during a targeted investigation into the proceeds of drug sales allegedly handled by Faisal Javed Shaikh and Alfiya Faisal Shaikh, who are believed to have procured mephedrone drugs from Dola.

Meanwhile, lauding the effort of intelligence agencies, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a post on X said, “Zero tolerance against narco syndicate. The NCB today made a major breakthrough in securing the return of notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola from Turkiye. 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.”