India has deported notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola, a key aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, after a 20-year crime spree that spanned multiple countries. Dola, 59, was detained by Turkish authorities and deported to India on Tuesday.
Born in Mumbai's Byculla in 1966, Dola rose through the ranks of the Mumbai underworld, initially supplying gutka and later marijuana before becoming a mastermind behind one of India's largest synthetic drug manufacturing and supply cartels.
He was arrested multiple times, including in 2012 and 2018, but managed to evade justice until his eventual capture in Turkey. Dola is wanted for prosecution in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and was the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice issued at India's request in 2024.
According to the government, Dola established a major transnational drug trafficking syndicate spanning several countries and emerged as the bulk supplier to downstream distribution networks in India. His son and associates were arrested by the Mumbai Police after extradition from the UAE in 2025.
