Mephedrone factory linked to Salim Dola busted in Bhopal

Indian Express

8 hours ago

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Mumbai busted a mephedrone manufacturing unit in Bhopal with links to Mumbai as well as an international drug network run by Salim Dola, who is believed to be connected to Dawood Ibrahim's gang, and arrested three persons, officials said. The factory was operationg from Jagdishpur area in Huzur Tehsil of Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh.
According to DRI officials, during interrogation, the arrested accused confessed that the raw material required in the manufacture of the narcotic drug were supplied from Bhiwandi on the direction of Dola. During further probe, the agency also learnt that 400 kilograms raw material were supplied to manufacture mephedrone in the Bhopal factory from March till July.
Three persons involved in the racket were arrested and several others who allegedly operated between Bhopal and Bhiwandi area to run the drug syndicate were questioned, officials said.
During investigation, officials also learnt that one of the drug syndicate members received a call from Turkey-based Salim Dola in February, 2025, who offered him a handsome amount to procure the chemicals for the manufacture of mephedrone. Later chemical supplier Viren Shah was roped in and was offered a commission of around Rs 2,000 per kilogram above the market price. He has been allegedly supplying '2 Bromo 4 Methyl Propiophenone' every month and had supplied 50 kilograms of the checcmical in March, 100 kilograms in April, 50 kilograms in May, 100 kilograms in June and100 kilograms in July, said an official.
On the instruction of Dola, the syndicate member along with Shah mutually decided to supply the chemicals without bill receipt to avoid any trail of the illegal supply of chemicals and created forged documents, added the official.
The DRI's Mumbai zonal unit also summoned one Azharuddin Idrisi on Saturday and during interrogation, he revealed that one Ashraf Rain offered him monetary benefit for transporting of raw material from Bhiwandi and Thane (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) to Bhopal. He was asked to collect the raw material at Anjur Phata, Bhiwandi, and load on to a mini truck to transport them to Bhopal.
Several others are also being questioned and search operations are still going on, added the official on the condition of anonymity.
Dola's network
In July this year, the Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for any credible information on the whereabouts of alleged narcotics trafficker, Salim Ismail Dola, who specialises in the production of MD. Over the years, mephedrone, a synthetic drug, has emerged as a key challenge for enforcement agencies. Believed to be close to Dawood Ibrahim's gang, Dola, as per officials, was forced to move to Turkey from where it would be difficult to get him back to India.
Narcotics agencies believe Dola has links with drug cartels in South Africa and Mexico. He was first arrested at the Mumbai airport in 1998, allegedly in possession of 40 kilograms of Mandrax. Police believe that he now handles the role of Salim Mirchi, who earlier handled narcotics business for the D Company.
While Dola has managed to remain elusive, his son Taher was deported from the United Arab Emirates on June 13 and his nephew Mustafa Mohammad Kubbawala on July 11, using mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) and Interpol framework.