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How Dawood aide's single move proved his undoing while underground
02 May 2026

Mohammad Salim Dola, a close associate of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim and an international drug trafficker, was recently extradited to India from Turkey.

The 59-year-old was arrested based on an Interpol Red Notice issued at India's request in 2024.

He had been evading authorities for several years and was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India.

How authorities tracked Dola to Turkey
Arrest details

Dola had fled to Istanbul from India and lived incognito for a year and a half. He didn't step out of his room or communicate with anyone during this time.

However, he made a mistake by ordering a courier delivery to his hideout address in Turkey, which led to his arrest.

Indian agencies, with Interpol's help, tracked him through this transaction.

He had 2 Indian passports and a Bulgarian passport
Extradition process

After pinpointing Dola's location, Indian officials alerted Istanbul police, who raided the hideout and arrested him.

He was then brought to Delhi from Turkey on Tuesday.

During a search of his room, authorities recovered two Indian passports and a Bulgarian passport from Dola.

He had been living in Turkey under the assumed name "Hamza" using a Bulgarian passport.

Dola linked to Ibrahim, NCB told court
Legal proceedings

On Thursday, a local court in Mumbai remanded Dola to the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau till May 8.

The probe agency told the court that Dola is an international drug trafficker linked with Ibrahim and was identified as a key supplier of mephedrone seized from south Mumbai in June 2023.

Investigators are now verifying whether his Bulgarian passport was valid or fake.