Dawood's close aide Salim Dola gets NCB custody till May 8 in drug seizure case

Mumbai: A court here on Thursday remanded notorious drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola, a close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)'s custody till May 8 in a 2023 drugs seizure case.

The probe agency told the court that Dola's name emerged as an international drug trafficker associated with Dawood Ibrahim, and he has been identified as the key supplier of a commercial quantity of mephedrone drug seized from south Mumbai in June 2023.

Dola (59) was arrested in Turkiye on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued on India's request in March 2024. He was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been absconding from law enforcement agencies.

He was brought to Delhi on Tuesday. A court in the national capital granted the NCB a two-day transit remand to take him to Mumbai.

An NCB team brought Dola to the city on Wednesday.

At 11.40 am on Thursday, Dola was initially produced before a special judge, designated to hear cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

However, confusion persisted over the jurisdiction of the court for his remand hearing.

The NCB submitted that the accused was arrested upon execution of a non-bailable warrant issued against him in September 2024 by the special court. Hence, he was produced before it.

The special court, however, held that as per the procedure, it is expected to produce the accused before the magistrate having jurisdiction (to preside over the matter) for the first remand.

"Therefore the investigation officer is directed to produce the accused before the magistrate having jurisdiction within stipulated time as ordered by the Patiala House court (Delhi, while granting the transit remand)," the special court judge said.

Accordingly, the accused was produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Esplanade) K S Zanwar on Thursday.

The probe agency sought his custody for 10 days saying that it needs to conduct a detailed probe into the matter.

It told the court that the accused was arrested based on the statement of a previously chargesheeted co-accused in the case pertaining to seizure of 20 kilograms of mephedrone drug from south Mumbai in 2023.

During the investigation, Dola's name emerged as an international drug trafficker associated with Dawood Ibrahim. He was identified as the key supplier of the seized mephedrone.

Faisal Javed Shaikh, considered the kingpin in this case, used to communicate with Dola through WhatsApp and would collect deliveries at a predetermined location near Mumbai, the NCB said.

The anti-drug agency contended that Shaikh admitted in his voluntary statement that he regularly procured 40 kg mephedrone per month from Dola at Rs 7 lakh per kg and resold it at Rs 8 lakh per kg, earning an estimated Rs 40-50 lakh per month.

The entire operation was cash-based and a financial investigation revealed that Shaikh had accumulated drug proceeds and drug-linked assets worth Rs 6,40,65,887. These assets were subsequently frozen and confirmed by Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA), the agency said.

It stressed that the other co-accused have corroborated Faisal's claims, confirming Dola's role in the drug trafficking network.

The agency cited that the accused has criminal antecedents and has multiple drug-related cases registered against him, including one in Gujarat, and also smuggling of Rs 5.5 crore worth of banned gutka to Kuwait.

The NCB submitted that the preliminary statements indicate the involvement of high-level associates and "unknown persons" in a complex drug network.

Custodial interrogation is essential to identify the supply chain, financial trails, and international linkages, it added.

Dola's advocate Zehra Charania sought clarity on when the accused was brought to Mumbai, and whether he was interrogated by the agency following his arrest on April 28.

She added that they are just mentioning the statement of the co-accused and have not produced the case diary.

After hearing both sides, the court noted that the accused was absconding and never cooperated in the investigation.

Considering the nature and gravity of the offence and serious antecedents on the part of the accused, his custodial interrogation is necessary, the court said while remanding him in the NCB custody till May 8.

Originally from Dongri in south Mumbai, Dola was actively involved in drug manufacturing and supply chains.

Investigators have said that he is believed to have operated and expanded mephedrone distribution networks across various parts of the country while based abroad.