A close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim and notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola was brought to India early this morning.

 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Narcotics Control Bureau has made a breakthrough in securing the return of Salim Dola from Türkiye. He said, the arrest of Salim Dola reflects the Narendra Modi government’s firm resolve to bring all narcotics fugitives and members of organised crime syndicates to justice.

 

In a social media post, Mr Shah said that under the Modi government’s mission to ruthlessly smash drug cartels, the country’s anti-narcotics agencies have extended their claws across borders through a robust network of global agencies.

 

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in close coordination with international and Indian intelligence agencies, has secured the return of Salim Dola under Operation Global-Hunt. He was taken into custody on his arrival at IGI Airport, New Delhi, early this morning by NCB.

 

Salim Dola was wanted for prosecution in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been absconding from Indian law enforcement agencies. Over the years, Dola had established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate spanning several 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, and Methamphetamine in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Dola’s role consistently emerged as that of a bulk supplier to downstream distribution networks in India. 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 from the UAE in 2025. Home Ministry said this effort exemplifies close cooperation and coordinated action between the authorities in Türkiye, INTERPOL and Indian agencies.