Kubbawala Mustafa: Mumbai Police Nab Key Drug Lord in Rs 252 Crore Mephedrone Bust After UAE Deportation!

In a major blow to an international drug syndicate, Kubbawala Mustafa, a 44-year-old key accused in a Rs 252 crore mephedrone bust, was deported from the UAE and arrested by Mumbai Police on Friday. The operation, coordinated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) through Interpol and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Abu Dhabi, saw Mustafa arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 1 am, escorted by a four-member Mumbai Police team.

Mustafa, nephew of the syndicate’s main accused, Salim Dola, allegedly ran a mephedrone manufacturing unit in Maharashtra’s Sangli from abroad, alongside his cousin Taher Salim Dola, who was deported on June 13, 2025. The Mumbai Crime Branch seized 126.141 kg of mephedrone, known as ‘meow meow,’ from the facility in March 2024. Mustafa, a Surat resident educated in Mumbai, sourced raw materials from Ahmedabad and distributed the drug in Gujarat, with profits laundered abroad via hawala.

The CBI secured a Red Corner Notice against Mustafa on November 25, 2024, following Mumbai Police’s request. After his geo-location in the UAE, NCB-Abu Dhabi facilitated his arrest, and a Mumbai Police team retrieved him on July 7, 2025. Chargesheeted with an open-dated arrest warrant, Mustafa joins 12 others arrested in the case. “This sends a strong message: no one escapes justice,” said Deputy Commissioner Raj Tilak Roushan, vowing to pursue remaining syndicate members.

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