1.5 Years In Hiding, Never Stepping Out, Until...: How Dawood Aide Salim Dola Was Arrested

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Notorious drug trafficker and mafia kingpin Dawood Ibrahim's aide Mohammad Salim Dola was recently arrested in Turkey and deported to India to face justice in drug trafficking case. He had managed to evade Indian agencies for several years, but a mistake involving a courier ultimately exposed his location, prompting the Istanbul police to raid his hideout and arrest him.

Here's how he was arrested

Mohammed Salim Dola, who faced an Interpol Red Notice on India's request, had left India for Turkey a few years ago and went underground.

According to a report, he did not come out of his hiding place for one and a half years, neither did he communicate with anyone.

A few days ago before his arrest, he directed a courier service to his location, which prompted the Indian agencies. They immediately alerted the police in Istanbul, which led to his arrest.

How Salim Dola was brought to India

Salim Dola was taken into custody at the Delhi airport where he was brought by the Turkey officials following his deportation.

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Dola, primarily based in Mumbai, faces several charges in Maharashtra and Gujarat related to drug trafficking, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Deputy Director General Neeraj Kumar Gupta said after his arrest.

The NCB, in close coordination with international and Indian intelligence agencies, had secured the return of wanted drug trafficker Salim Dola from Turkiye, under 'Operation Global-Hunt'.

Cases against Dola

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),“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.”

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“Over the years, Dola had established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate spanning a number of 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.”

“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 said.

(With agency inputs)

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