Gangster Dawood Ibrahim's aide deported to India in major anti-drugs crackdown
Dola's deportation is seen as a massive blow to the underworld's narcotics trade, as the gangster was allegedly managing a significant portion of the D-Company's drug operations from overseas.
In a breakthrough for Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies against the international drug syndicate, Salim Dola, a high-ranking member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang and a notorious drug kingpin, was deported to India on Tuesday (April 28). Dola was brought to the Delhi Airport via a special aircraft in the early hours of Tuesday morning following a successful coordinated operation between Indian intelligence and international agencies.
The development occurred a day after Dola was apprehended in Turkey's Istanbul. His deportation is seen as a massive blow to the underworld's narcotics trade, as the gangster was allegedly managing a significant portion of the D-Company’s drug operations from overseas. His alleged cartel was operating a drug and narcotics network to the tune of more than Rs 5,000 crore a year, with no estimates available about the transnational syndicate's revenues.
"If Dola has been detained, then it's great news, and a big blow to his trafficking network," a senior officer from Mumbai police, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said right after the news of his arrest came to light.
Upon his arrival at the airport, he was immediately taken into custody for an intensive round of interrogation by senior intelligence officials.
Sources indicate that after the initial questioning by central agencies, Dola will be handed over to the Mumbai Police or the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for further legal proceedings and investigation into his extensive network.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the Narcotics Bureau on the arrest and deportation of Dola to India.
"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 on X.
CRACKDOWN ON DOLA'S SON, AIDE
The deportation of Salim Dola follows a series of high-profile legal victories for Indian authorities, beginning with the successful extradition of his son, Taher Dola, from the United Arab Emirates in June 2025.
This momentum continued months later when Salim Mohammed Sohail Shaikh, a primary associate in Dola's network, was deported from Dubai and subsequently arrested by the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell. These operations highlighted a tightening net around an organisation that faces a litany of charges in India, ranging from large-scale drug manufacturing and international smuggling to various other criminal offences.
Beyond the narcotics investigations, Salim Dola and his associates are also under intense scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate, which is currently probing multiple money-laundering cases linked to their illicit operations.