India brings int'l drug trafficker Salim Dola from Turkiye; Amit Shah vows ruthless action against cartels

In a major breakthrough, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday secured the return of notorious international drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola from Turkiye, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced here. Dola (59), a ''close aide'' of international terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested in Turkiye on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued on India's request in March 2024, officials said. He was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been absconding from the law enforcement agencies. Over the years, Dola had allegedly established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate across a number of countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, they said. Stressing on zero tolerance against the narco syndicate, the Union home minister said on X, ''Under Modi government'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 said. In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Dola was brought from Turkiye under ''Operation Global-Hunt''. He was taken into custody on his arrival at IGI Airport, New Delhi, early this morning by the NCB. The federal anti-narcotics agency briefly questioned him too, it said. ''Fugitive Salim Ismail Dola had been hiding in Turkiye for the last two years. The NCB had issued an Interpol Red Notice against him in 2024. ''We will produce him before a Delhi court seeking his transit remand for Mumbai where he will again be produced before a competent court for custody,'' Niraj Kumar Gupta, NCB Deputy Director General (operations), told reporters here. The officer said Dola had created a drug network over the last 20 years in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Gupta said he was wanted by the NCB, Maharashtra Police, Gujarat ATS and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Dola, born on December 31, 1966, speaks Hindi and Marathi. He faces multiple charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, according to the Interpol Red Notice database. A Red Notice is Interpol's request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. ''The successful return of Salim Dola, under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, reflects the firm resolve of the Government to bring all narcotics fugitives and members of organised crime syndicates to justice, by pursuing them relentlessly across the globe,'' the home ministry said. 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, it said. Earlier, his son Tahil Salim Dola and other associates were arrested by Mumbai police after deportation/extradition from the UAE in 2025. Dola's role consistently emerged as that of a bulk supplier to downstream distribution networks in India, and it was also sought by ATS Gujarat and the Mumbai Police. This effort exemplifies close cooperation and coordinated action between the authorities in Turkiye, Interpol and Indian agencies, the ministry said.

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