Noose Tightens Around Dawood Empire

Indian agencies have intensified efforts to dismantle the Dawood Ibrahim empire. Investigations and search operations have indicated that he continues to be regarded as one of the most valuable assets of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), particularly in channelling terror funds against India.

Despite advancing age and reported health concerns, Dawood continues to wield considerable influence through a sprawling criminal network with deep roots across India. Investigators say the Dawood syndicate remains heavily involved in the narcotics trade, while also operating fake currency rackets and maintaining a vast network of contract killers.

India’s national security establishment has directed all agencies concerned to pursue a sustained and coordinated campaign against the Dawood network. The police forces, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are working in close coordination to dismantle the syndicate’s operations and financial infrastructure.

“The objective is to systematically choke the network’s activities and ensure that its operational presence on Indian soil is brought to an end,” an official said.

Another official said that there are back-to-back operations that are taking place against the Dawood syndicate, adding that the primary aim is to dismantle the drug network. This is said to be the backbone of the syndicate, and the money earned from this trade is being used to fund terror activities against India.

According to officials, Dawood's network is required to hand over nearly 40 per cent of its profits in return for protection and the unhindered movement of narcotics through Pakistan. “The syndicate's annual earnings are estimated to be between Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 25,000 crore,” the officials claimed.

A substantial portion (40 per cent) of this revenue, officials allege, is diverted towards financing anti-India terror activities, underlining the scale of the security challenge posed by the network.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the current focus is mainly on the drug empire. Once this is knocked down, the syndicate would begin to crumble. These crackdowns on Dawood’s drug syndicate align perfectly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Nasha Mukt Bharat or a drug-free India. The programme was initially launched in 272 highly vulnerable districts across the country in August 2020.

The official said that Indian agencies have been steadily tightening the noose around the drug syndicate through a series of coordinated operations. A breakthrough came with the extradition of Salim Dola, a close aide of Dawood, who allegedly managed a significant part of the syndicate's narcotics network. Investigators say information gathered during his interrogation has provided crucial leads, helping agencies identify and dismantle drug trafficking networks operating across the country.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at multiple locations in Maharashtra and Gujarat as part of a money laundering probe linked to Dola. The ED raided 20 locations in Mumbai besides Surat, Rajkot and Ankleshwar in Gujarat.

In addition to targeting the narcotics syndicate, the agencies are also keeping a watch on Dawood’s henchmen and sharpshooters. Officials say that these persons are not only being used for extortion rackets. Over the last couple of months, they have been diverted from their main activity and are being tasked with executing terror attacks. They have become part of the ISI’s larger strategy of blending the underworld with terror groups. The recent arrest of eight associates linked to Dawood revealed that they were being tasked from Karachi to execute terror attacks in Mumbai and Delhi.

The NIA, on the other hand, is chasing the fake currency syndicate and is probing multiple cases. The fake currency racket in India is also under the control of the Dawood network, and funds raised from this trade, too, are being diverted to fund the ISI’s terror, officials say. This is also a racket that generates hundreds of crores of rupees. When it comes to fake currency, Dawood has his men across the country. The arrangement is a 50:50 sharing between Dawood and the men running the trade in various parts of India.

Officials say there are clear directives to maintain sustained pressure on the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate and continue targeting its financial and operational networks. If the current momentum is maintained, the organisation could face a serious decline in its ability to function, an official said. The official added that such a crackdown would also deal a significant blow to ISI, which would find it increasingly difficult to generate funds for terror proxies that have long been used to target India's interests.