Operation Sagar Manthan: NCB focuses on large-scale action against ‘lord of drugs’ Haji Salim | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Indian government has stepped up efforts to dismantle the international drug empire Haji Salima notorious smuggler called the ‘lord of drugs’. Under the banner of ‘Operation Sagar Manthan,’the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has launched a major crackdown against Salim’s vast smuggling syndicate, which is believed to span continents and destabilize the region.
On the orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, authorities seized nearly 4,000 kilos of illegal drugs linked to Salim’s operations. Arrests have also been made, including several Pakistani nationals linked to the syndicate.
Global drug lord
Haji Salim, also known as Haji Baloch, has been identified as a central figure in a vast drug smuggling network spanning India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and beyond. NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh described him as “one of the largest drug traffickers in the world”, orchestrating the trade of heroin, methamphetamine and other narcotics through a sophisticated web of routes across Asia, Africa and the West .
Salim’s network reportedly provides funding narco-terrorismfurther exacerbating security challenges in the Indian Ocean region. Intelligence reports indicate close links between Salim and fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, with evidence of their meetings in Karachi, Pakistan. Salim is also said to receive support from the ISI, including access to satellite phones to coordinate his sea smuggling operations.
Marked shipments and synthetic drugs
One of the hallmarks of Salim’s activities is the use of distinctive markings on drug shipments, such as ‘777’ or ‘flying horses’. These shipments often originate from Iran and pass through Afghanistan and Malaysia before reaching Indian coasts via smaller ships at night.
Salim’s syndicate has also shifted its focus to synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, driven by the Taliban’s restrictions on opium cultivation since 2021. Methamphetamine production, which yields higher profits and poses fewer risks, has become a lucrative alternative.
Indian authorities first discovered Salim’s involvement in 2015 when a huge drug shipment was intercepted off the coast of Kerala. Subsequent operations have resulted in the seizure of drugs worth over Rs 40,000 crore in the last two and a half years, but Salim has managed to evade arrest. He remains sheltered in Karachi.