Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 8 : In a significant breakthrough for federal agencies tracking the underworld-narcotics nexus, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) successfully produced Salim Dola, a high-profile associate of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, before the Killa Court on Friday.
Following a brief hearing where the agency outlined its progress in the ongoing investigation, the court remanded Dola to 14-day judicial custody.
NCB officials escorted Dola under heavy security. Having exhausted their initial period of interrogation, the NCB did not seek further transit or departmental remand, leading the magistrate to transition Dola into judicial custody.
Visuals from the site showed a contingent of NCB officers leading Dola away from the court premises shortly after the order was passed. He is expected to be lodged in a local correctional facility while the legal process continues.
Dola is suspected of managing international drug trafficking routes that funnel illicit funds back into the underworld syndicate. This move is part of a broader crackdown by Indian agencies on the remnants of the Dawood Ibrahim network. By securing Dola's custody, the NCB aims to further squeeze the financial lifelines of the syndicate operating within Maharashtra.
Earlier, on April 30, Salim Dola was brought to the NCB office in Mumbai after the Patiala House Court granted him two days of transit remand.
The high-profile transfer follows a successful operation by the NCB that ended Dola's years-long stint as a fugitive. Dola, who had been absconding for several years, was reportedly operating from Turkey, where he was believed to be managing the international drug trafficking interests of the "D-Company." Following a coordinated effort between international agencies and Indian intelligence, he was arrested.
He was initially produced before the Patiala House Court in Delhi. The court granted the NCB a two-day transit remand to transport him to Mumbai. He arrived under heavy security and was processed at the NCB's Mumbai zonal unit.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Manish Gupta appeared for NCB and sought transit remand of Salim Dola. He has been arrested in the case of 2023 of NCB Mumbai.
Advocate Sharian Mukherji alongwith Akash, appeared for Salim Dola and opposed the transit remand application.
It was also submitted that it is alleged that there was an LOC issued against Salim Dola. But the date of issuance of the LOC is not mentioned. Salim Dola had gone to Turkey in 2020. Counsel for accsued also submitted that the present case was lodged in 2023. Salim Dola has been out of India since 2020. How can he be connected with this case?
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Arun Khatri alongwith Advocate Shelly, appeared for NCB. It was submitted that the accused had been arrested on an NBW issued against him from a Mumbai court. He has been arrested in an FIR of the NCB of 2023. He also submitted that the grounds of arrest had already been supplied to the accused.
Salim Dola was brought to India on April 28. He was deported to Delhi Technical Airport from Istanbul.
This followed an operation by the intelligence department in collaboration with international agencies. Salim Dola, who is said to be the key man behind Dawood's drug empire, is currently facing interrogation by intelligence agencies.
Dola was arrested on April 25 after the Narcotics Crimes Division of the Istanbul Police Department launched a targeted operation to intercept the Indian national. Dola, who is wanted for 'drug trafficking', was located hiding in a residence in the Beylikduzu district.
Soon, Dola was successfully apprehended and was then processed for deportation to India.
The crackdown in Turkey aligns with ongoing investigations in India, where associates captured in Mumbai's Kurla region reportedly confessed to receiving instructions from Dola, according to CNN Turk.
During those related raids in India, authorities seized 126 kilograms and 141 grams of mephedrone alongside 2,522,000 Indian rupees. The Istanbul Police Department has since completed the necessary station procedures for the high-profile detainee.
The Interpol Red Notice specifies that Dola is facing a series of charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. This Indian legislation prescribes a minimum decade-long prison sentence for significant violations and maintains rigorous criteria for bail, especially when the seizure involves commercial-grade quantities of narcotics.
Officials are now expected to charge him under the provisions of the NDPS Act and other acts for offences committed.
Salim Dola is considered a pivotal figure in the underworld's narcotics network. Officials believe his interrogation will provide critical insights into: How the D-Company moves contraband across borders via West Asia and Europe, the "hawala" channels used to funnel drug money back into organised crime activities and identifying active "sleeper cells" and distributors operating within Mumbai and neighbouring states.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor