In the past week there have been numerous news reports speculating that Dawood Ibrahim, India’s most wanted criminal, has been poisoned in Pakistan and may be dead. This is not the first time that Ibrahim has been reported as dead. In 2020, there were reports that he had contracted Covid-19 and may have passed away. In 2017 he was reported to have died after having a heart attack.
Ibrahim was born in 1955 in Mumbai, the son of a Muslim police constable. He is wanted by the authorities in India in connection with his history of involvement in organised crime, drug trafficking, and also terrorism for his part in the bomb attacks in Mumbai in 1993. He is the leader of the infamous ‘D-Company’ organised crime group, and has a long and complicated criminal history.
Ibrahim’s organised crime career reportedly began in the 1970s when he and his brother Shabir created what has been called the ‘D-Company’, which grew in scale and influence from their criminal businesses of drug and arms trafficking, gold smuggling, extortion, counterfeit currency, contract killings and film piracy. In 1981 Shabir Ibrahim was killed on the orders of Samad Khan, the leader of the Pathans, another organised crime gang in Mumbai. Dawood Ibrahim had his revenge by killing Samad Khan in 1986, but his consequent rise as the most powerful criminal leader in Mumbai influenced the police to pursue him and in 1986 he fled to Dubai to avoid prosecution.
Ibrahim’s drug trafficking syndicate has been involved in large-scale shipments of narcotics in the UK and Western Europe using smuggling routes from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, which he has shared with Al Qaeda as part of a financial arrangement. The US authorities have reported that in the 1990s Ibrahim travelled to Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban and brokered the deal with Al Qaeda.
The religious conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India led to Ibrahim’s involvement in terrorism. The 400 year old Babri Masjid mosque in India was attacked by Hindu nationalists in December 1992, leading to communal violence and riots across the country. Ibrahim then became involved in smuggling weapons and explosives for terrorist groups, allegedly with assistance from the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
On 12 March 1993, coordinated bomb attacks in Mumbai led to the death of 257 and another 713 people injured. The authorities and the courts in India have concluded that Dawood Ibrahim planned and organised the attacks. The Supreme Court of India outlined the background in 2008:
In order to take revenge of the said demolition [of the Babri Masjid mosque], Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim, a resident of Dubai, formulated a conspiracy to commit a terrorist act in the city of Bombay. In pursuance of the said object, Dawood Ibrahim agreed to send arms and ammunitions from abroad. Tiger Memon, in association with his men, particularly, the accused persons, received those arms and ammunitions through sea-coasts of Bombay. In continuation of the said conspiracy, Tiger Memon sent some of the accused persons to Dubai and from there to Pakistan for training and handling in arms and ammunitions.
According to the Supreme Court conclusions, Ibrahim’s planning of the Mumbai bomb attacks was detailed and meticulous. The targets included the Bombay Stock Exchange, Katha Bazaar, Sena Bhavan, Century Bazaar, Mahim Causeway, Air India Building, Zaveri Bazaar, Hotel Sea Rock, Plaza Theatre, Juhu Centaur Hotel, Air Port Bay-54 and the Air Port Centaur Hotel. The explosive ‘RDX’ (Research Department Explosive) was used for the first time in a large scale terrorist attack. The explosives, hand grenades, arms and ammunition were smuggled into India from Dubai by Ibrahim’s associates. Weapons training for those involved in the attack was organised at a camp in Pakistan. Two separate teams were formed to conduct reconnaissance of the targets. After the bomb attacks, police raids discovered one suitcase containing 65 hand grenades and 10 detonators, another suitcase containing 40 hand grenades and 50 detonators, as well as AK-56 assault rifles and other small arms, indicating that more attacks were considered by the gang.
The investigations of the bombings led to 20 years of judicial proceedings, with 8 of those involved in the attacks sentenced to death by execution. Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon have not been apprehended but remain wanted by the Indian authorities for their role in planning and execution of the Bombay bombings.
The US authorities have stated that Ibrahim and his syndicate have consistently aimed to destabilize the Indian government through inciting riots, acts of terrorism, and civil disobedience. In 2003, the US Government Treasury Department designated Dawood Ibrahim as a “terrorist supporter”, leading to asset freezes and a prohibition on transactions by US nationals with him. The US authorities stated that Ibrahim and is criminal group had ties to terrorist financing and that “the business of terrorism forms part of their larger criminal enterprise.” Ibrahim was alleged to have cooperated with Al Qaeda by sharing his smuggling routes and funding attacks by Islamic extremists aimed at destabilizing the Indian government. In addition, the US authorities report that Ibrahim is known to have financed the activities of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (Army of the Righteous), a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the US since October 2001.
Further insight into Ibrahim and the D-Company criminal business came in 2019 when the FBI applied to extradite Pakistani national Jabir Motiwala, who uses the surname Siddiq, from the UK to the US. Motiwala was alleged by the FBI to be a member of D-Company, reporting directly to Ibrahim and responsible for extortion, debt collection and money laundering.
An FBI undercover agent laundered $1 billion that was the proceeds of drug trafficking from D-Company, and after meetings with members of the syndicate learned more about their business. D-Company would resolve business disputes, force collection of debts, traffic illegal drugs, and use their reputation for violence to intimidate people.
Ibrahim and the D-Company have for decades been a transnational organised crime syndicate with a deep nexus with terrorism. Ibrahim has been sheltered in Pakistan and able to operate from that country. He is suspected to have had a strategic alliance with the Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence agency, used by them as a tool against India.
Despite being wanted by the authorities in India for over three decades, Ibrahim has not come close to being apprehended. He turned 68 years old on Boxing Day this year, and still seems to live for another day. Ibrahim has been called a “patriotic gangster”, and is another example of criminals being used for political purposes.