2-Year-Long Hunt Spanned Several Countries, Involved Int’l Agencies

New Delhi: Central agencies and NCB secured the return of international drug trafficker and D Company henchman Mohammed Salim Dola Tuesday morning, ending a two-year-long manhunt that spanned several countries. In an operation monitored by the home ministry, he was flown from Istanbul on a special aircraft which landed at the technical area of Delhi airport.Union home minister Amit Shah praised the multi-agency operation. “Zero tolerance against Narco syndicates. Under the Modi govt’s mission to ruthlessly smash drug cartels, our anti-narcotics agencies have extended their claws across borders through a robust network of global agencies. Now no matter where they hide, no place is safe for drug kingpins,” he said in a post on X.Dola, a key supplier of Mephedrone aka Meow Meow drug, was detained in Turkiye last week after being geolocated there in close coordination with international and Indian intelligence agencies as part of ‘Operation Global-Hunt’. His arrest is being seen as a major blow to Dawood Ibrahim’s narcotics network in Turkiye and Bulgaria – a critical segment of the Balkan route linking Asian and South American producers to European markets, sources said.India had begun tightening its noose around Dola two years ago after his name surfaced in an investigation of Meow Meow labs in several states. In March 2024, the Interpol had issued a Red Notice against him on India’s request. The first breakthrough came last year when his son, Tahil Dola, and other associates were arrested by the Mumbai police after deportation/extradition from the UAE in coordination with CBI. The agencies subsequently intensified their efforts to zero down on Dola’s location. His UAE passport made Dola more accessible to Indian agencies, sources said.Earlier this month, the agencies zeroed down on a flat in Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district where Dola was living and operating from under an assumed identity. Subsequently, a raid was conducted by the authorities resulting in his apprehension.Wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India, Dola (59), a resident of Dongri in Mumbai, had been on the fugitive list since 2018. Officials said his role emerged as that of a bulk supplier to downstream distribution networks in India.