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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Mephedrone factory linked to Salim Dola busted in Bhopal
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.
Hindustan Times
12-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Key accused in ₹252-cr Sangli drugs bust deported from UAE
MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday got Mustafa Mohammed Kubbawala, 44, a key accused in a ₹252-crore synthetic drugs bust, deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the help of Interpol and authorities based in the UAE. A resident of Surat, Kubbawala was wanted by the Mumbai police in an illegal mephedrone factory bust in Sangli district, Maharashtra. Key accused in ₹ 252-cr Sangli drugs bust deported from UAE In March last year, police stormed the factory, in Kavthe Mahankal in Sangli, and seized 126.14kg of mephedrone, commonly known as 'MD' valued at around ₹252 crore. The illegal facility was controlled by alleged drug lord Salim Dola and his son Taher. Kubbawala, son of Salim's sister, was charge sheeted in the case and the trial court had issued an arrest warrant against him. Kubbawala was found to be in the UAE by Interpol and the National Central Bureau-Abu Dhabi, officials said. He was apprehended on the basis of a pending Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him. RCNs issued via Interpol allow for the arrest or detention of fugitives in member countries pending extradition or deportation. The RCN was issued against Kubbawala after the Mumbai crime branch made the drugs bust in Sangli last year. 'The International Police Cooperation Unit of the CBI, in collaboration with the NCB-Abu Dhabi, brought Kubbawala back to India on Friday,' the official said. A four-member team of the Mumbai police had gone to Dubai, on July 7, to bring him back. Kubbawala was arrested in Dubai on May 18, two days before Salim's son, Taher Dola, was apprehended by the NCB-Abu Dhabi. Taher was brought back to India on June 13 and is currently in judicial custody, said a police officer. A four-member team of the Mumbai crime branch, comprising assistant commissioner of police Chandrakant Jadhav, police inspector Arun Thorat and two head constables went to the UAE on Tuesday, and with the help of the International Police Cooperation Unit of the CBI, brought Kubbawala to Mumbai on Friday. According to the police, Kubbawala became involved in the drugs trade a decade ago and, for the last five to six years, has been operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and helping Salim Dola to run his syndicate. A senior police officer said he used to supply raw materials required for the manufacture of MD from Surat to Pravin aka Nagesh Ramchandra Shinde, who oversaw production at the Sangli factory. He was assisted in the procurement of raw materials by Ijaj Ali Imdad Ali Ansari and Adil Imtiyaz Vohara, both Surat residents who were arrested in the case earlier. Kubbawala, the police said, would personally transport the contraband manufactured at the Sangli unit to their distribution point in Mira Road, where he used to deliver it to their points-person, Sajid Mohammad Asif Shaikh alias Dabs, 25. Kubbawala transported the drugs to Dabs in Mercedes or BMWs, and the latter then used his network of drug peddlers to supply it to consumers. Kubbawala would also collect money from Dabs once the contraband was sold and send it to Dubai through hawala channels, said a police officer. He added that the 44-year-old mostly stayed in Surat and visited Mumbai and MMR only whenever required. He fled to the UAE after the Sangli factory bust. Unit 7 of the crime branch has arrested a total 13 accused, including a woman, in the case so far.
