BREAKING NEWS : ED Targets Drug Mafia Network in Gujarat, Mumbai Raids

Ahmedabad | Gujarat — A sweeping Enforcement Directorate (ED) operation targeting the financial backbone of an alleged international drug trafficking network has exposed a vast web of money laundering, hawala transactions and benami assets spanning India and overseas. In one of the most extensive crackdowns in recent months, the ED conducted coordinated searches at 21 locations across Gujarat and Mumbai, striking at what investigators describe as a highly organised trans-national narcotics syndicate.

The searches, carried out on June 2 and 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), focused on the network allegedly operated by notorious drug mafia Salim Ismail Dola and his associates. Locations in Surat, Ankleshwar, Rajkot and Mumbai were covered as investigators targeted every layer of the syndicate’s alleged operations—from banned chemical suppliers and traders to manufacturers and distributors of the synthetic narcotic drug Mephedrone (MD), hawala operators and suspected benami property holders.

According to the ED, the objective was not merely to disrupt drug trafficking but to dismantle the financial ecosystem that enabled the syndicate to flourish. Investigators believe the network generated massive illicit proceeds through narcotics trafficking and subsequently routed the money through complex laundering channels.

During the searches, officials froze bank balances amounting to approximately ₹1.33 crore linked to Dola and his associates. Large quantities of cash, gold bars and foreign currency, including US dollars, were also seized. Investigators further recovered documents related to immovable properties worth crores of rupees located in India as well as Dubai, indicating possible overseas investments made using proceeds from illegal activities.

“The operation was aimed at breaking the crucial links of the illegal supply chain and money laundering network that sustained the syndicate,” officials familiar with the investigation said.

The probe stems from multiple FIRs registered by law enforcement agencies in Mumbai under the NDPS Act against Dola and others. ED officials say evidence gathered so far points to a sophisticated criminal enterprise involved in procuring banned precursor chemicals, manufacturing Mephedrone in clandestine laboratories, transporting narcotics across states and laundering profits through hawala channels.

Investigators suspect that movable and immovable assets were acquired in the names of associates and dummy individuals to conceal ownership. With the investigation continuing, officials believe more assets and financial links connected to the syndicate could surface in the coming weeks, potentially widening the scope of one of India’s largest anti-narcotics money laundering probes.