In a major breakthrough for the Narcotics Control Bureau, a key aide of the Dawood Ibrahim gang was extradited to India on Tuesday from Turkey. The deportation of 59-year-old notorious drug dealer Mohammed Salim Dhaula was an example of India’s “zero tolerance” for the drug gang.
Born in India to a middle-class family in Byculla, Mumbai in 1966, Salim Dulla quickly developed ties with Dawood Ibrahim and then became the mastermind behind one of the largest synthetic drug manufacturing and supply rings operating in India.
He was arrested by the Turkish Intelligence Agency and Beylikduzu police before being deported to India.
Gutka to get rid of weed, then drugs: Dola’s criminal past
After falling into Mumbai’s underworld at a young age, Dola first gained fame by supplying gutkha in Mumbai and Delhi. The illicit substances he provided soon changed to marijuana or “hashish” and he was first arrested by the National Central Bureau in 2012 after 80 kilograms of marijuana were found in his possession.
He did not learn about the world of drugs until after his release from prison. As reported earlier by HT, his friendship with fugitive drug supplier Kailash Rajput helped set up a manufacturing unit for ‘Button’, a synthetic drug made using fentanyl.
The second arrest came in 2018 when 100 kilograms of fentanyl were found in Salim Dula’s possession. However, he was released on bail within a few months after samples tested negative for fentanyl. Salim Dula then fled to the United Arab Emirates, obtained a passport there under an assumed name and then fled to Türkiye, where he was eventually arrested.
Interpol Red Notice, wanted for drug trafficking
According to a Home Ministry press release, Salim Dulla was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued at India’s request in 2024 and was wanted for prosecution in multiple drug trafficking cases in India.
“Over the years, Dula has established a major transnational drug trafficking ring extending to a number of countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. His criminal antecedents spanning over two decades include direct involvement in cases involving multiple high value seizures of heroin, charas, mephedrone, mandrax and methamphetamine in Maharashtra and Gujarat,” the statement said.
According to the government, Salem Daula has emerged as a wholesale supplier to downstream distribution networks in India. His son Tahil and his other associates were arrested by Mumbai Police after they were extradited from the UAE in 2025.
