New Delhi, 11 July

An alleged synthetic narcotics producer facing an Interpol Red Notice was deported to India from the UAE on Friday, in an operation coordinated by the CBI through Interpol and Mumbai police, officials said.

Kubbawala Mustafa, the wanted drugs manufacturer, was brought from the UAE to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, escorted by a four-member team of state police, around 1 am, an official said.

He was taken into custody by the crime branch of the Mumbai police at the airport, the official said.

“The International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) of CBI in collaboration with NCB-Abu Dhabi successfully brought back wanted Red Notice subject Kubbawala Mustafa to India on Friday," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

The Mumbai police had busted a synthetic drugs manufacturing facility in Maharashtra’s Sangli, where 126.141 kg of mephedrone, a party drug also known as ‘meow meow’, was recovered and confiscated. It was alleged that Mustafa ran the factory from abroad, officials said.

“The subject was earlier geo-located in UAE through close follow-up by CBI through Interpol with NCB-Abu Dhabi,” the spokesperson said.

Mustafa was chargesheeted in Mumbai and a special court had issued an open-dated arrest warrant against him.

“The CBI got the Red Notice published through Interpol on 25 November, 2024 on the request of Mumbai police. NCB-Abu Dhabi conveyed on 19 June, 2025 that, their authorities have requested to send a security mission to UAE to bring back the subject to India. Subsequently a team of Mumbai police was formed to bring back the subject from the UAE,” the spokesperson said.

According to a Mumbai police official, Mustafa was a key material and chemical supplier for manufacturing high-quality mephedrone. He allegedly used to get the raw materials from Ahmedabad. After manufacturing the synthetic stimulant, he used to distribute it in Gujarat to the members of a drug syndicate, he said.

Earlier, a case was registered against Mustafa and others at Kurla police station here on the allegations that he was operating a synthetic drug manufacturing factory in Sangli from abroad, he said.