Gujarat ATS arrests international drug trafficker Salim Dola
The arrest is connected to a 2022 mephedrone seizure in Vadodara valued at ₹438.64 crore.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested international drug trafficker Salim Ismail Dola on October 31, according to a report by Hindustan Times. Dola, who was deported from Turkiye earlier this year, is linked to the seizure of mephedrone worth ₹438.64 crore from a Vadodara factory in 2022.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) SL Chaudhary said Dola allegedly supplied chemicals for manufacturing the drug and later bought and sold the finished product. The ATS had raided a manufacturing unit near Sindhrot village in Vadodara district on December 1, 2022, seizing 87.728 kg of mephedrone.
Officials stated that Dola's syndicate allegedly used containers of legal exports to conceal narcotics and set up dummy companies in destination countries. The ATS said the mephedrone from the Vadodara factory was transported to Mumbai and delivered to Dola's associates.
Dola was brought back from Turkiye in April this year after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) acted on an Interpol Red Notice issued in March 2024. The ATS described him as a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim who had previously been associated with Iqbal Mirchi.
The ATS is currently questioning Dola to establish chemical sources, financial transactions, and distribution channels. Chaudhary added that police will also investigate his assets and whether he operated other drug networks in Gujarat or elsewhere while staying overseas.