Drug trafficker Salim Dola lived in Turkiye on Bulgarian passport, used fake name ‘Hamza’: Officials

Absconding drug trafficker Mohammad Salim Dola was extradited from Turkiye after living under a false identity. Linked to Dawood Ibrahim, he faces investigation by Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai

New Delhi: Mohammad Salim Dola, the absconding international drugs trafficker brought to India from Turkiye recently, was living in that country on a Bulgarian passport under the assumed name of ‘Hamza’, officials said on Friday.

On Thursday, a local court in Mumbai sent Dola, 59, to the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau till May 8.

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Officials privy to the developments said initial probe found Dola was staying in Turkiye on a Bulgarian passport under the name ‘Hamza’.

It is being ascertained if his Bulgarian passport was valid or fake, they said.

The probe agency told the Mumbai court that Dola’s name emerged as an international drug trafficker associated with Dawood Ibrahim, and that he has been identified as the key supplier of a commercial quantity of mephedrone drug seized from south Mumbai in June 2023.

Dola was arrested in Turkiye on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued on India’s request in March 2024. He was wanted in multiple narcotics trafficking cases in India and had been absconding from law enforcement agencies.

He was brought to Delhi from Turkiye on Tuesday.