Interpol arrests former aide of Iqbal Mirchi in Dubai
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad took custody of wanted fugitive Salim Ismail Dola on October 31 after his apprehension in the UAE.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said on Tuesday that they took custody of wanted fugitive Salim Ismail Dola on October 31. Dola was apprehended by INTERPOL in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based on a Red Corner Notice (RCN), according to The Indian Express.
Dola, a former associate of Mohammad Iqbal Memon, also known as Iqbal Mirchi, had been wanted by the Gujarat Police for four years. His name appeared in a 2022 investigation into a narcotics manufacturing factory in Vadodara.
The ATS conducted a raid on December 1, 2022, at a manufacturing unit in Sindhrot village, Vadodara district, where they seized 87.728 kg of mephedrone (MD) drugs. The seized drugs had an estimated international market value of Rs 438.64 crore.
The ATS stated that Dola was previously associated with Iqbal Mirchi during the 1990s, when he allegedly transported mandrax drugs for him. Officials claimed Dola established an international drug trafficking network using dummy companies and concealed narcotics inside containers of legally exported goods.
The investigation is now focusing on Dola's role in the Sindhrot factory case, the sources of raw materials, financial transactions, and his international connections. Dola had previously been arrested in several cases involving Mandrax, Charas, Gutkha, and mephedrone between 1998 and 2025.