Indian authorities secured a major enforcement success after they deported Salim Dola, a trusted associate of fugitive crime lord Dawood Ibrahim.
Officials transported him to Delhi early Tuesday on a special aircraft. Agencies coordinated closely with international partners to execute the operation.
Investigators are currently questioning Dola in Delhi. Authorities will soon transfer him to the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai.
They intend to examine his role in large-scale drug trafficking and cross-border smuggling cases.
Turkish officials arrested Dola in Istanbul following an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued at the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Mumbai Police had pursued him for years over multiple narcotics cases. His deportation follows recent action against his network.
Authorities extradited his son, Taher Dola, from the UAE in June 2025. They also deported associate Salim Mohammed Sohail Shaikh from Dubai.
Officials estimate that Dola managed a drug enterprise worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore. Investigators believe the syndicate channelled illicit proceeds into activities harmful to national security.
Experts stress that dismantling narco-networks supports counter-terror efforts.
Probes reveal that the syndicate operated a transnational synthetic drug system. It allegedly set up production units across India.
Dola, born in Mumbai in 1966, entered criminal networks early. He worked with Chhota Shakeel.
He began with contraband trade before expanding into narcotics. Authorities arrested him in 2012 and again in 2018 with fentanyl seizures. He later fled to the UAE.