Salim Dola deported from Turkey: Amit Shah says no safe place for drug kingpins
Synopsis
Mohammad Salim Dola, who allegedly ran a ₹5,000 crore drug empire with links to Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan's ISI, has been deported from Turkey to India — the latest in a series of cross-border enforcement wins that signals a new phase of India's anti-narcotics offensive.
Key Takeaways
Mohammad Salim Dola , a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim , was deported from Turkey to India on 28 April 2025 .
Dola allegedly ran a ₹5,000 crore drug trafficking network with alleged links to ISI-backed narcotics cartels .
He is being questioned at the NCB headquarters in RK Puram, New Delhi ; the Enforcement Directorate will also interrogate him in money laundering cases.
His son, Taher Dola , was previously extradited; close aide Salim Mohamed Sheikh was deported from Dubai and is in Mumbai anti-narcotics cell custody.
Agencies are probing Dola's links to the Dawood Syndicate , drug labs, and alleged ISI funding of terror groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba .
Separate operations in the Andaman Islands have targeted Mexican cartel consignments; agencies are also tracking Myanmar-based cartels pushing drugs into India's northeastern states.
Drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola, a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested in Turkey and deported to India on Tuesday, 28 April, in what Union Home Minister Amit Shah described as a major breakthrough in the Modi government's campaign to dismantle narcotics cartels. Dola was flown to New Delhi in a special aircraft and handed over to Central Intelligence officials before being taken to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) headquarters in RK Puram, Delhi, for interrogation.
What Amit Shah Said
Home Minister Amit Shah took to X to announce the development, stating:
Point of View
But the bigger story is the intelligence architecture being assembled around it. If agencies can extract actionable leads on Dawood's supply chains, ISI funding routes, and the Myanmar-northeast corridor, this becomes more than a headline arrest — it becomes a structural disruption. The caveat: India has secured high-profile deportations before without fully dismantling the networks beneath them. The test of this operation will be what prosecutions and seizures follow in the next six months, not the optics of the aircraft landing.
NationPress
2 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mohammad Salim Dola and why was he deported to India?
Mohammad Salim Dola is a drug trafficker and alleged close aide of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, who reportedly ran a ₹5,000 crore narcotics network. He was arrested in Turkey and deported to India on 28 April 2025 following coordination between Indian and international intelligence agencies.
What will Indian agencies question Salim Dola about?
According to officials, Dola will be questioned about his India-based drug operations, links to the Dawood Syndicate, drug labs he allegedly set up, and connections to Pakistan's ISI. The Enforcement Directorate will also interrogate him in relation to multiple money laundering cases.
What is the link between Salim Dola and the Dawood Ibrahim network?
Dola is described by officials as a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim and an alleged key player in an ISI-backed narcotics cartel. Authorities believe dismantling his network could help break Dawood's drug supply chains into India and cut funding to terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Has anyone else from the Dola network been arrested or deported?
Yes. Dola's son, Taher Dola, was previously extradited to India and was also a significant figure in the network. Additionally, Salim Mohamed Sheikh, a close aide of Dola, was deported from Dubai and is currently in the custody of Mumbai's anti-narcotics cell.
What other drug cartel operations are Indian agencies currently pursuing?
Indian agencies have conducted seizures in the Andaman Islands targeting consignments linked to Mexican cartels that were allegedly being routed through India to Thailand. Authorities are also closely monitoring Myanmar-based cartels pushing narcotics into India's northeastern states, with intelligence suggesting drug proceeds are funding insurgent groups in the region.
