Who is Salim Dola? Dawood’s close aide arrested in Türkiye

Salim Dola, the biggest mastermind involved in spreading synthetic drugs business in India and close to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has been caught in Istanbul, Turkey. Based on the Red Corner Notice (RNC) issued by Interpol, the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) and the local police conducted a joint operation and detained him. Dola’s arrest is considered a major success for the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, which was searching for this international drug smuggler for a long time.

Salim Dola’s journey started from the narrow streets of Byculla, Mumbai. Born in a middle-class family, Dola initially supplied Gutkha in Mumbai and Delhi but the attraction of the world of crime brought him closer to the underworld. It was here that he met notorious gangster Chhota Shakeel. After which he did not look back and started expanding the drug syndicate for Dawood Ibrahim gang.

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Gutkha to Ganja and then synthetic drugs

Salim Dola’s crime graph started from gutkha supply to ganja smuggling. In 2012, he was arrested with 80 kg of ganja, after which he spent nearly five years in jail. However, after coming out of jail, he turned his attention towards more dangerous synthetic drugs. He joined hands with absconding drug mafia Kailash Rajput and set up a factory to manufacture deadly drugs like ‘Button’. Deadly opioids like fentanyl were used in this.

absconding abroad

Salim Dola was caught with 100 kg of fentanyl from Santa Cruz in 2018 but luck favored him and he got bail within a few months due to the drug not being confirmed in the forensic report. As soon as he came out of jail, he fled to UAE. There she not only set up a real estate business for her son, but also obtained a UAE passport in a different name. On the basis of this fake identity, he reached Türkiye, where he finally got caught by the law.

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Preparation to bring to India

Bringing Salim Dola to India is a big challenge for Mumbai Police. Since there is no direct extradition treaty between India and Türkiye, the security agencies are working on a special strategy. Dola has a UAE passport, so the Indian government will try to bring her back through UAE. Officials believe that Dola’s return could lead to many important revelations about the underworld drug network and Dawood’s financial sources.