Gujarat ATS takes custody of drug lord Salim Dola in mephedrone case
The accused is linked to a 2022 Vadodara factory raid where drugs worth Rs 438.64 crore were seized.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) took drug lord Salim Ismail Dola into custody on October 31 in connection with a mephedrone seizure case in Vadodara. According to reports by The Hindu, Dola is an alleged international drug trafficker linked to a factory raid in Sindhrot that occurred on December 1, 2022.
During that raid, officials seized 87.728 kg of mephedrone (MD) valued at approximately Rs 438.64 crore on the international market. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ATS) SL Chaudhary said Dola allegedly supplied chemicals for manufacturing the drug and also bought and sold the finished product.
Dola was arrested in Istanbul on April 25, 2026, following an Interpol Red Notice issued in March 2024. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) brought him back to India on April 28 under ‘Operation Global-Hunt’. He was lodged in a Mumbai jail before the Gujarat ATS took him into custody.
The ATS stated that Dola's syndicate allegedly used dummy companies and concealed narcotics in containers carrying legally exported goods to ship them abroad. Investigations indicated that the mephedrone from the Vadodara factory was delivered in Mumbai to an associate, Aiman Musa Sheikh, also known as Ayan Khan.
Dola has a long criminal history, including involvement in the international Mandrax trade for Iqbal Mirchi in the 1990s. He was previously arrested in 1998 and 2013, and has been named in cases involving gutkha and fentanyl.
The ATS plans to question Dola to identify the source of raw materials, trace money flows, and establish the network's international links. The Enforcement Directorate is also investigating his finances and alleged money laundering.