Gujarat ATS takes custody of international drug trafficker Salim Dola in Rs 438-crore MD drug case

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken custody of alleged international drug trafficker Salim Ismail Dola, who is wanted in connection with the seizure of 87.728 kg of mephedrone (MD), valued at 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 legal procedure after an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him.

The ATS is now questioning him to establish his role in the Sindhrot drug factory case and investigate the alleged 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 (MD), estimated to be worth Rs 438.64 crore in the international market.

A total of 10 people were arrested in 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, the investigating officer 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 also 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.

Dola was subsequently 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 him.

Intelligence inputs indicated that he was residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, using an Indian passport and was operating mobile numbers registered in the UAE and Kenya.

The investigation further revealed that Dola had previously 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 also reportedly used dummy companies in destination countries where the consignments were delivered.

Available records of various investigating agencies show 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 and by the Mumbai Police's Anti-Narcotics Cell in 2013 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, in which CR No. 69/2018 was registered on December 27.

Subsequent cases in which his alleged involvement was recorded 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 Gujarat mephedrone seizure case that year. Further cases were registered against him in Maharashtra in 2024 and 2025, including cases 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).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated an investigation during 2025-26 into financial transactions, properties and alleged money laundering linked to his suspected drug trafficking network.

The Gujarat ATS will question Dola about the source of raw materials used in the Sindhrot factory, financial transactions, other people involved in manufacturing and distribution, and the network's interstate and international connections.

The agency is also investigating the wider alleged drug trafficking operation.

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