Gujarat ATS Arrests International Drug Trafficker in Major MD Case

Ahmedabad, November 3 (Daily Kiran) : The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has apprehended international drug trafficker Salim Ismail Dola. He was wanted in connection with the seizure of 87.728 kilograms of methaqualone (MD) from an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Vadodara district in December 2022. The estimated value of the drugs in the international market is ₹438.64 crores.

Dola was taken into custody on October 31, following the issuance of an Interpol Red Corner Notice. The ATS is currently interrogating him to establish his role in the Sindharot drug factory case and to investigate the alleged interstate and international network involved in drug manufacturing and distribution.

On December 1, 2022, the Gujarat ATS raided an illegal drug manufacturing facility in Sindharot village, seizing the large quantity of MD. This operation resulted in the arrest of ten individuals, and an FIR was filed under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

During the investigation, authorities discovered that one of the arrested individuals, Soumil Pathak, had been in contact with Dola while incarcerated. Investigators later determined that Pathak was allegedly collaborating with Dola in the illegal production and sale of drugs, including methaqualone.

Further inquiries revealed that the methaqualone produced at the Sindharot facility was reportedly supplied to Dola’s associate, Ayman Musa Sheikh, also known as Ayan Khan, based in Mumbai. Consequently, Dola was declared a wanted suspect in this case.

According to the ATS, Dola was operating a drug trafficking network from abroad. The agency initiated proceedings through Interpol to locate him. Intelligence reports indicated that he was using an Indian passport in Dubai and registered mobile numbers from the UAE and Kenya.

The investigation also uncovered Dola’s past connections with the infamous drug lord Iqbal Mirchi. In the 1990s, Dola allegedly transported drugs for Mirchi during his involvement in the international illicit trade of mandrex.

Dola and his associates later established an international drug trafficking network. This operation reportedly involved hiding narcotics within containers filled with legally exported goods to smuggle them abroad. The network allegedly utilized fake companies in the countries where the shipments were delivered.

Records from various investigative agencies indicate that Dola has been linked to numerous drug trafficking and other criminal cases over the years. He was arrested in 1998 at Mumbai International Airport with approximately 40 kilograms of mandrex and again in 2013 by the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell with about 79 kilograms of cannabis.

His name also surfaced in a 2017 Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) case involving the alleged smuggling of gutkha worth ₹5.5 crores from Gujarat to Kuwait. In 2018, the Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell initiated action against him in a case related to fentanyl worth approximately ₹1,000 crores.

Subsequent cases involving his alleged involvement include an NDPS case registered at the Ghatkopar police station in 2022, another case related to approximately 20 kilograms of methaqualone registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in 2023, and a separate case logged by the Mumbai Crime Branch.

Dola’s name also appeared in another methaqualone seizure case in Gujarat in 2023, with additional cases filed against him in Maharashtra in 2024 and 2025. A case registered by the Mumbai Crime Branch in 2025 included provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun investigating financial transactions, assets, and alleged money laundering connected to Dola’s suspected drug trafficking network during 2025-26. The Gujarat ATS plans to question Dola about the sources of raw materials used at the Sindharot factory, financial transactions, and the identities of others involved in production and distribution, as well as the interstate and international links of the network.