NEW DELHI: Mohammad Salim Dola, an absconding international drug trafficker recently brought back to India from Türkiye, was reportedly living there on a Bulgarian passport under the assumed identity “Hamza,” officials said on Friday.On Thursday, a Mumbai court remanded the 59-year-old Salim Dola to Narcotics Control Bureau custody till May 8.According to news agency PTI, officials familiar with the probe said preliminary findings suggest that Dola was residing in Türkiye 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 informed a Mumbai court that Dola’s name has surfaced as an international drug trafficker linked to Dawood Ibrahim. He is also identified as a key supplier in a commercial quantity seizure of mephedrone made in south Mumbai in June 2023.Officials said Dola was arrested in Turkiye following an Interpol Red Notice issued at India’s request in March 2024. He had been absconding in several narcotics trafficking cases registered in India.He was extradited and brought to Delhi from Turkiye on Tuesday.(With agency inputs)
