Who is Salim Dola? Dawood Ibrahim, key aide and drug kingpin, deported to India

Dola's arrest came on April 25, when the Narcotics Crimes Division of the Istanbul Police Department launched a targeted operation in the Beylikduzu district, where he had been hiding.

One of the key figures behind Dawood Ibrahim's drug network has been brought back to India after Turkish authorities tracked him down to a residence in Istanbul and handed him over following deportation proceedings. Salim Dola, described by investigators as the man who ran the operational backbone of Dawood's narcotics empire, landed at Delhi's Technical Airport on Tuesday and is currently being interrogated by intelligence agencies. He will subsequently be handed over to the Mumbai Police for further questioning by multiple agencies.

How he was caught

Dola's arrest came on April 25, when the Narcotics Crimes Division of the Istanbul Police Department launched a targeted operation in the Beylikduzu district, where he had been hiding. The operation followed extensive technical and physical surveillance that allowed security teams to confirm his exact location before moving in. Turkish authorities then initiated deportation proceedings, coordinating with Indian intelligence and international agencies to facilitate his return.

Dola had been on Interpol's radar, with a Red Notice issued against him on charges of drug trafficking. The notice flagged him for violations under India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985, legislation that carries a minimum ten-year prison sentence for significant offences and maintains strict conditions for bail when commercial quantities of narcotics are involved.

The India connection

Dola's arrest in Turkey runs parallel to ongoing investigations in India. Associates arrested in Mumbai's Kurla area had reportedly confessed during interrogation to receiving instructions directly from him, according to CNN Turk. During related raids in India, authorities seized approximately 126 kilograms and 141 grams of mephedrone along with Rs 25,22,000 in cash.

Officials are now expected to charge Dola under the NDPS Act, along with other relevant legislation, for offences committed.

Amit Shah responds

Union Home Minister Amit Shah used the development to underscore the government's stance on drug syndicates. Posting on X, Shah said, "Zero tolerance against the Narco syndicate. The Narcotics Control Bureau today made a breakthrough in securing the return of notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola from Turkiye. Under the 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."

The deportation marks one of the more significant blows to Dawood Ibrahim's network in recent years, with investigators now looking to use Dola's interrogation to map the full extent of the syndicate's operations both within India and abroad.

(With ANI inputs)