New Delhi:
Mohammad Salim Dola, a close aide of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim and an international drugs trafficker, was extradited to India from Turkey recently.
Dola, a resident of Mumbai’s Dongri, was arrested in Turkey on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued on India’s request in 2024. The 59-year-old was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been on the run.
For several years, the Indian security agencies had been actively engaged in tracking Dola.
Photo Credit: PTI
Officials involved in the operation said that locating him was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
A single error then led to Dola’s arrest.
How Salim Dola Was Caught
Fearing Indian security agencies, Salim Dola fled to Istanbul from India and went underground.
For a year and a half, he did not step out of his room and did not communicate directly with anyone.
However, a few days ago, he ordered a courier delivery to the address of his hideout, a move that led to his capture.
It was through this transaction that Indian agencies, aided by Interpol, were able to pinpoint Dola’s location.
The Indian officials then alerted Istanbul police, who then raided the place and arrested him.
Photo Credit: ANI
He was brought to Delhi from Turkey on Tuesday.
Three Passports Recovered From Salim Dola
During the search operations of Salim Dola’s room, two Indian passports and a Bulgarian passport were recovered from Salim Dola.
He was living in Turkey on a Bulgarian passport under the assumed name of ‘Hamza’.
It is being ascertained if his Bulgarian passport was valid or fake, they said.
On Thursday, a local court in Mumbai sent Dola to the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau till May 8.
Photo Credit: ANI
The probe agency told the Mumbai court that Dola’s name emerged as an international drug trafficker associated with Dawood Ibrahim and that he has been identified as the key supplier of a commercial quantity of mephedrone drug seized from south Mumbai in June 2023.