New Delhi, April 27, 2026
The arrest of Salim Dola, who ran a Rs 5,000 crore drug empire, is a major blow to the Dawood Ibrahim Syndicate. Dola was arrested in Turkey in a joint operation by the National Intelligence Organisation and police units.
India would seek his extradition, as his interrogation would be crucial to further break up the Dawood Syndicate. Indian agencies would coordinate with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to seek his extradition, as India does not have an extradition treaty with Turkey.
An official said that the first move would be to have him extradited to the United Arab Emirates, since Dola holds a UAE passport. Following this, the Indian agencies would coordinate with their counterparts in the UAE and then have him extradited to India.
Dola was detained based on an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN), issued following a request by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was wanted by the Mumbai police, which sought to question him in multiple cases relating to narcotics smuggling.
An official said that they are confident about the extradition. Last year, Dola’s son, Taher Dola, was detained in the UAE following an operation conducted by the local authorities and Interpol. Taher was extradited to India from the UAE in June 2025. A few months later, Salim Mohammed Sohail Shaikh, a key player in this cartel and a close aide of Dola, was arrested in Dubai and extradited to India.
The arrest comes at a time when the agencies from across the country have launched a massive operation against drug cartels. Officials are operating at multiple levels as they deal with threats from cartels from Pakistan, Myanmar and also Mexico.
An official said that dismantling the Dawood Syndicate is a high priority, since it is the money that this cartel earns from narcotics smuggling which funds terror groups in Pakistan. The ISI, as part of its deal with the Dawood network, gets 40 per cent of the money that the syndicate earns for each transaction.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the arrest of Dola will significantly weaken the Dawood syndicate operations in Mumbai, Gujarat and Delhi. The official said that Dola’s arrest hurts the Dawood Syndicate in a major way, especially when it comes to transnational operations and funds.
Dola was a big contributor to the syndicate, and his arrest not just hurts the syndicate, but also the ISI’s funds, which it routes into terror groups that hurt India’s interests. Another official explained that going after the narco syndicates is also key in the fight against terror.
While the Pakistan-based cartel funds terror groups in the country, those operating in Myanmar fund insurgent groups in the northeast. The drug cartels and terror groups are directly linked, and the war on narcotics will directly impact the operations of terrorist groups, the official added.
The arrest of Dola, his son and close aide suggests that the network is gradually crumbling. They were involved in running a transnational synthetic drug trafficking network which spanned several countries. They had set up laboratories and factories in many parts of India.
The interrogation of Dola and his aides would lead the police to the production points, which eventually would be eliminated. The police would also gather information on his lineages with Dawood and the ISI elements who have been backing this network for long, another official said.
Dola was born in Mumbai in 1966 and got close to the underworld at a very young age. He worked closely with Dawood’s right-hand man, Chhota Shakeel. His operations began by supplying ghutkha, following which he smuggled weed or marijuana. He was arrested in 2012 by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after 80 grams of weed were found in his possession. He was acquitted after spending five years in jail.
After his release, he set up a drug manufacturing unit for a synthetic drug known as Button, which is made using fentanyl. In 2018, he was arrested once again in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, after 100 kg of fentanyl was seized from him. However, he was out on bail after four months, as the forensic report said that the tested samples of fentanyl came back negative. He fled to the UAE while he was out on bail.(Agency)
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