Dubai-based drug trafficker accused in 6 cases arrested
Shera Batla was the fourth alleged drug trafficker to be deported from a foreign country in recent months, said Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police, crime branch
Mumbai: Alleged international drug trafficker Salman Salim Sheikh alias Shera Batla, 35, wanted in at least six cases of production and sale of banned narcotics in India, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai police on Saturday.
Shera was detained by authorities in Dubai airport in pursuance with a red corner notice issued against him. He was formally arrested in a 2022 drug peddling case after being brought to the city, officers familiar with the case told Hindustan Times.
Shera, also wanted in connection with the recovery of drugs worth ₹23 crore from Bhiwandi in 2024, was the fourth alleged drug trafficker to be deported from a foreign country in recent months, said Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police, crime branch. The other deportees were Tahir Salim Dola, son of alleged drug kingpin Salim Dola, Mustafa Mohammed Kubbawala and Mohammed Salim Mohammed Sohail Shaikh.
“Shera’s arrest is in line with the state government’s strict policy to make the city and the state drugs free,” Gautam said.
Shera, a south Mumbai resident, was allegedly involved in setting up factories to manufacture MD in different parts of the country. For the past three years, he had been operating from Dubai, where he lived with his family, officers familiar with the case said.
The case for which Shera was arrested was registered on August 4, 2022, following the arrest of alleged drug peddler Mohammed Shahrukh Shaikh, 28, said Navnath Dhavale, ANC’s deputy commissioner of police (DCP). Shaikh was arrested with three other accused from Nagpada in central Mumbai and 995 grams of Mephedron or MD, a banned narcotic, worth approximately ₹2 crore, was recovered from them.
“During interrogation, Shaikh revealed that Shera, who was based in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) was his supplier. A red corner notice was subsequently issued against him via Interpol,” said an officer.
On Saturday, Shera was about to board a flight for another country from Dubai when he was detained by the police based on the red corner notice and deported with the help of sister agencies, the officer said. He was produced before the Esplanade court on Sunday and remanded to police custody for five days, the officer added.
