In a major breakthrough for Indian law enforcement, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) secured the return of Mohammed Salim Dola, a high-ranking associate of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, to India on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Dola, a notorious international drug trafficker, was brought to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from Turkey via a special aircraft following a high-stakes coordinated operation involving Indian intelligence agencies and Turkish authorities. The 59-year-old was apprehended in Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district on April 25 under “Operation Global-Hunt,” a mission targeting approximately 100 high-profile fugitives. Dola is now in NCB custody and faces questioning related to a transnational narcotics empire worth an estimated ₹5,000 crore.
The operation was the culmination of months of intelligence gathering. Dola had been living in Istanbul under a pseudonym, reportedly using a forged UAE passport to evade detection. He was first identified as a major priority following an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued in March 2024 at India’s request. Turkish intelligence (MIT) and the Istanbul Police Department’s Narcotics Division executed a targeted raid on a flat where Dola was hiding after extensive technical surveillance confirmed his exact whereabouts.
Dola’s criminal history spans over two decades, starting with his first arrest in 1998 for smuggling 40 kg of mandrax. Investigators believe he rose through the ranks to manage the D-Company’s narcotics operations after the death of Salim Mirchi.
Following his arrival in Delhi, Dola was produced before a court that granted a two-day transit remand to the NCB. Authorities plan to transport him to Mumbai, where he is wanted for multiple cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the operation as a reflection of India’s “zero tolerance” policy toward narco-syndicates.
