Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 20: Intelligence and police sources say the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate, though weakened by recent anti-narcotics operations, is attempting a comeback in India by shifting tactics from drug trafficking to abduction and extortion.

According to officials, sustained busts and losses in the narcotics trade have reduced the gang’s manpower and influence—especially in Maharashtra, its traditional stronghold—eroding its reach in police, political and film circles.

Facing a shortage of recruits and declining fear of the organisation, sources say the syndicate’s handlers in Pakistan have ordered a temporary slowdown in drug operations and a renewed focus on high profile kidnappings, ransom demands and the creation of regional extortion cells across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Mumbai Crime Branch officers report recent arrests in operations linked to the network, including a cell allegedly run by Sajid Electricwala and an associate, and point to several extortion cases in which public figures have been targeted with multi crore demands. Police also cited an Interpol assisted arrest in Trinidad and Tobago of two suspects connected to a ransom demand against Zeeshan Siddiqui, son of the late NCP leader Baba Siddiqui.

Authorities say the syndicate’s aim appears as much to revive its aura of fear as to raise funds, and local agencies are monitoring suspected cells and pursuing investigations to prevent a wider resurgence.