Who is Salim Dola? Drug trafficking mastermind deported from Turkey used fake identity ‘Hamza’
Mumbai-born alleged drug trafficker Salim Dola has been deported from Turkey to India after being detained on an Interpol Red Notice. Investigations reveal he used the fake identity “Hamza” and a Bulgarian passport while staying abroad. He is currently in NCB custody till May 8
PTC Web Desk: Mumbai-born alleged drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola, aged 59, who was recently brought back to India after deportation from Turkey, had been living under a false identity using the name “Hamza,” according to a PTI report.
Officials said this alias was linked to a Bulgarian passport that he allegedly used while staying in Turkey. Authorities are still examining whether the passport was genuine or forged.
Dola was deported to India on April 28 after being detained by Turkish intelligence agencies along with the police in Beylikduzu. Following his return, he was placed in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) until May 8. His arrest in Turkey was executed on the basis of a Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol in March 2024, on India’s request.
Known for his alleged links with the underworld network of Dawood Ibrahim, Dola later emerged as a key figure in multiple narcotics trafficking operations across India and abroad. Over the years, investigators say he built a wide drug smuggling network spanning regions in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
According to officials, Dola first came under the scanner in 2012 when the NCB arrested him after recovering around 80 kg of cannabis. He was arrested again in 2018 after authorities allegedly seized 100 kg of fentanyl from his network. However, after some samples reportedly tested negative for fentanyl, he was granted bail and subsequently fled India, first moving to the UAE and later relocating to Turkey using a fake passport.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after his deportation described Dola as the head of a transnational drug syndicate involved in trafficking several high-value narcotics, including heroin, charas, mephedrone, mandrax, and methamphetamine, primarily operating across Maharashtra and Gujarat.
NCB officials have also informed a Mumbai court that Dola is believed to be a key supplier in a commercial quantity of mephedrone that was seized in south Mumbai in June 2023.