Dawood Aide Used Fake Name ‘Hamza’ on Bulgarian Passport to Evade Detection in Turkey: PTI Report
Mohammad Salim Dola, the 59-year-old drug trafficking operative linked to fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, concealed his identity in Turkey under the alias “Hamza” a name that appeared on a Bulgarian passport he used during his stay there, PTI reported on Friday (May 1). Whether the Bulgarian passport is genuine remains under investigation.
Dola was detained by Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency and Beylikduzu police before being deported to India on April 28. He has since been remanded to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) custody until May 8. His arrest followed an Interpol Red Notice issued at India’s request in March 2024.
Who Is Mohammad Salim Dola?
Born in 1966 in Mumbai’s Byculla, Dola reportedly entered the criminal underworld at an early age, developing close ties with Chhota Shakeel and eventually becoming an operative in Dawood Ibrahim’s drug network. He began with gutkha smuggling across Mumbai and Delhi before graduating to narcotics, starting with marijuana trafficking.
In 2012, the NCB arrested him with 80 kg of marijuana. He spent nearly five years in custody before being acquitted. After his release, he allegedly linked up with fugitive supplier Kailash Rajput and pivoted to synthetic drugs together reportedly producing a pill-form drug called “Button,” believed to be manufactured using opioids including fentanyl.
Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested him again in 2018 in Santacruz, seizing 100 kg of a substance suspected to be fentanyl. He secured bail within four months after forensic tests failed to confirm the substance, and subsequently fled India. In the UAE, he allegedly established a real estate business in his son Tahir’s name, reportedly funded through drug proceeds.
Dola resurfaced on law enforcement radar in 2024 when Mumbai Police Crime Branch seized 4 kg of mephedrone and traced the supply chain from Sangli and Surat back to the UAE and Turkey, where he was allegedly directing operations remotely through associates.
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Istanbul Police’s Narcotics Crimes Division arrested him on April 25 following targeted technical and ground surveillance that led authorities to a residence in the Beylikduzu district. He was subsequently deported to India through due procedures.
Domestic investigations are ongoing. Arrested associates in Kurla have reportedly stated they acted on his instructions. Raids connected to the case have yielded over 126 kg of mephedrone and ₹25.22 lakh in cash.
Under an Interpol Red Notice, Dola faces multiple charges under India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, which carries stringent penalties. Authorities noted that earlier deportations of his family members from the UAE had already begun to erode his network ahead of his own capture.