ED raids 20 locations in Dawood aide-linked drug trafficking, hawala probe
Searches target chemical suppliers, hawala operators and benami assets linked to alleged Dawood aide extradited from Turkey
A day after being brought to Delhi from Turkey, Dola was flown to Mumbai by the NCB and produced before a special NDPS court. (File Photo) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 20 locations across Mumbai, Surat, Ankleshwar and Rajkot in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged transnational narcotics trafficking syndicate operated by Salim Ismail Dola and his associates.
The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, following multiple FIRs registered in Mumbai against Dola and others in cases related to trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
According to the ED, the searches targeted premises linked to suppliers of precursor chemicals, intermediaries involved in chemical trading, traffickers allegedly engaged in the manufacture and distribution of the synthetic drug Mephedrone (MD), hawala operators, and persons suspected of holding benami properties purchased using proceeds generated from the drug trade.
Dola, an alleged close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, was extradited from Turkey last month. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has described him as a key figure in an international narcotics network and one of the country’s major Mephedrone manufacturers.
A day after being brought to Delhi from Turkey, Dola was flown to Mumbai by the NCB and produced before a special NDPS court. He is the first accused to be brought back to India under the NCB’s “Operation Global Hunt”, aimed at dismantling drug syndicates being operated by fugitives based abroad.
The trail leading investigators to Dola began with a 20-kg Mephedrone seizure in Mumbai in July 2023, in which Dongri resident Faisal Javed Shaikh was arrested by the Mumbai unit of the NCB. Officials said scrutiny of Shaikh’s bank accounts revealed suspicious financial transactions and fund transfers that eventually led investigators to Dola, who was then based in the UAE.
“We did what usually works in such cases — follow the money,” an official had said earlier, adding that investigators suspected narcotics proceeds were being routed to Dola through a network of bank accounts and hawala channels.
The ED on Tuesday said its probe has so far revealed a “highly organised transnational criminal network” involved in procurement of precursor chemicals, clandestine manufacture of Mephedrone, interstate transportation and distribution of narcotic substances, international drug trafficking, and laundering of proceeds of crime through hawala channels.
The agency said it is also probing the alleged role of financial facilitators, including accountants and chartered accountants, in layering and routing funds generated through the narcotics trade.
According to the ED, proceeds of crime were allegedly invested in movable and immovable assets held in the names of associates and other persons, including properties in India and abroad. Officials said searches and investigation in the case are continuing.
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