Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Nov 3: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken alleged international drug trafficker Salim Ismail Dola into custody in connection with the seizure of 87.728 kg of mephedrone (MD), worth Rs 438.64 crore in the international market, from an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Vadodara district in December 2022.
Dola was taken into custody by the Gujarat ATS on October 31, following due legal procedure after an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him.
The ATS is interrogating him to establish his alleged role in the Sindhrot drug factory case and investigate the interstate and international network involved in the manufacture and distribution of narcotics.
The case dates back to December 1, 2022, when the Gujarat ATS raided an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Sindhrot village of Vadodara district and seized 87.728 kg of mephedrone, valued at approximately Rs 438.64 crore in the international market.
A total of 10 persons were arrested during the operation, and an FIR was registered at the ATS police station under Sections 8(C), 22(C) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
During the investigation, officers found that one of the arrested accused, Soumil Pathak, had come into contact with Dola while in jail. Investigators subsequently established that Pathak was allegedly involved with Dola in the illegal manufacture and sale of narcotic substances, including mephedrone.
The investigation further revealed that the mephedrone manufactured at the Sindhrot unit was allegedly supplied to Aiman Musa Sheikh, alias Ayan Khan, a Mumbai-based associate of Dola. Following these findings, Dola was named as a wanted accused in the case.
According to the ATS, Dola was operating a drug trafficking network from abroad. The agency initiated proceedings through Interpol to secure a Red Corner Notice and trace his whereabouts.
Intelligence inputs indicated that Dola was residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, using an Indian passport and operating mobile numbers registered in the UAE and Kenya.
The investigation also revealed that Dola had earlier been associated with Iqbal Mirchi. According to intelligence inputs, during the 1990s, when Mirchi was involved in the international illegal trade of Mandrax, Dola allegedly worked for him by transporting drugs.
Dola and his associates subsequently established an international drug trafficking network, allegedly concealing narcotic substances in containers carrying legally exported goods to transport them overseas. The network reportedly used dummy companies in destination countries to receive the consignments.
Records available with various investigating agencies indicate that Dola has been linked to several drug trafficking and other criminal cases over the years.
He was arrested at Mumbai International Airport in 1998 with approximately 40 kg of Mandrax. In 2013, the Mumbai Police's Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested him with around 79 kg of charas.
His name also surfaced in a 2017 Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) case involving the alleged smuggling of gutkha worth approximately Rs 5.5 crore from Gujarat to Kuwait.
In 2018, the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell initiated action against him in a fentanyl-related case involving an estimated Rs 1,000 crore. An FIR bearing CR No. 69/2018 was registered on December 27 that year.
Subsequent cases linked to his alleged activities include an NDPS case registered at Ghatkopar police station in Mumbai in 2022, a 2023 Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai, case involving approximately 20 kg of mephedrone, and another case registered by the Mumbai Crime Branch's DCB, CID Unit-06, in 2023.
His name also surfaced in another mephedrone seizure case in Gujarat in 2023.
Further cases were registered against him in Maharashtra in 2024 and 2025, including at Kasigaon, Antop Hill, RCF and Tulinj police stations, as well as by the Mumbai Crime Branch and the DRI's Bhopal unit.
A 2025 case registered by the Mumbai Crime Branch also invoked provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated an investigation during 2025-26 into financial transactions, properties and alleged money laundering linked to Dola's suspected drug trafficking network.
The Gujarat ATS will question Dola about the source of raw materials used at the Sindhrot factory, financial transactions, other individuals allegedly involved in the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, and the network's interstate and international connections.
The agency is also investigating the wider alleged drug trafficking operation.