Mumbai Crime Branch Arrests Key Aide Drug Lord Salim Dola, Deported from Dubai

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested Salim Mohammed Sohail Shaikh, a key aide of fugitive drug lord Salim Dola, and remanded him in custody until October 30. Shaikh was deported from Dubai to Mumbai before being taken into custody.

Shaikh, an alleged associate of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, is a significant player in the drug trafficking network. Officers handling the case told Hindustan Times:
“Shaikh was a key link between the Dawood Ibrahim gang and other drug trafficking networks in India. He managed the operations of a major mephedrone (MD) manufacturing network and played a key role in coordinating and supplying synthetic drugs across the country and abroad.”

According to reports, a red corner notice had previously been issued for Shaikh’s arrest through Interpol. Based on this notice, authorities in Dubai detained him and, with the assistance of sister agencies, he was brought to Mumbai.

Lakhmi Gautam, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, who has been monitoring the case, stated that Shaikh is the 15th accused arrested in connection with a probe that began in February 2024, following the arrest of several alleged drug peddlers.