New Delhi, 02 May (H.S.): Mohammad Salim Dola, a prominent associate of fugitive underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim and a key player in international narcotics trafficking, has been deported to India from Turkey following his recent capture in Istanbul.
Indian security agencies, working alongside Interpol, tracked Dola after he went underground in Istanbul, evading detection for over a year by rarely venturing outside his hideout in the Beylikduzu district. His arrest stemmed from a critical misstep: ordering a courier delivery to his concealed residence, which exposed his precise location through transaction records.
Istanbul police swiftly raided the site on April 25, apprehending the 59-year-old Mumbai native who had been living under the alias Hamza using a Bulgarian passport alongside two Indian ones—prompting his handover to Indian authorities.
Upon arrival in Delhi earlier this week, Dola faced immediate interrogation by intelligence officials before transfer to Mumbai, where a local court remanded him to Narcotics Control Bureau custody until May 8.
The agency links him directly to Dawood's drug syndicate, citing his role in supplying massive quantities of mephedrone seized in Mumbai in June 2023, valued at over Rs 252 crore, amid broader probes into hawala networks and synthetic narcotics distribution.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
