Dawood Ibrahim

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Dawood Ibrahim

Wanted Dawood Ibrahim by Interpol
Born December 31, 1955 (1955-12-31) (age 52)
Flag of India Ratnagiri, Maharashtra India
Occupation Drug smuggler, Money launderer, Underworld Don, Crime Boss
Spouse Zubeena Zareen (Mehajabeen)

Dawood Ibrahim (Urdu: داوود ابراهيم), b. December 31, 1955, also known as Dawood Ebrahim, and Sheikh Dawood Hassan, birth name Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, is the head of the organized crime syndicate D-Company in Mumbai. He is currently on the wanted list of Interpol for organised crime and counterfeiting.[1] He was No. 4 on the Forbes' world's Top 10 most dreaded criminals list of 2008.[2]

Ibrahim is accused of heading a vast and sprawling illegal empire. His name has become a byword in political, business and law enforcement circles. After the Bombay Blasts in 1993, which Ibrahim organized and financed, he became India's most wanted man. After that incident, most of the his key Hindu mobsters and even few Muslims went against him bringing down his empire. In 2003, the United States Government declared Dawood Ibrahim a "Global Terrorist" and pursued the matter before the United Nations in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations after significant diplomatic lobbying by the government of India. The Bush Administration, under advisement from the Indian Government, has imposed sanctions on Ibrahim.[3] Although Pakistan denies any knowledge of his existence, Indian intelligence agencies, such as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), believe that Dawood currently resides in Karachi. [4] Ibrahim is also alleged to have close links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.[5]

Contents

[edit] Background

Dawood Ibrahim, the son of a police constable Ibrahim Kaskar, was born in Ratnagiri in the Indian state of Maharashtra on December 31, 1955.[6] He is of Konkani [1] descent.He is said to have begun his career in Bombay working for the Karim Lala gang exploiting the burst in the Bombay textiles industry to his advantage.[6] He soon shifted his residence to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and has business interests there, in India, and Pakistan. His career developed in the Persian Gulf states and in the bylanes of Nagpada and Dongri in Bombay, India. His brother, Anees Ibrahim and Chetan gaidhane are believed to be his key aides.

[edit] Involvement with Terrorism and Narcotics Trafficking

Ibrahim is widely believed to have masterminded the 1993 Bombay Bombings, a series of terrorist attacks carried out in the city on March 12 of the year. He later absconded from India and now, according to the Indian government, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan, which the Pakistani government denies. In 2003, the Indian and United States governments declared Ibrahim a "Global Terrorist". The then Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani described it as a major development and that India stands "vindicated". Ibrahim is currently on India's "Most wanted List".[7]

The United States Department of Treasury has also designated Ibrahim as a terrorist as part of its international sanctions program — effectively forbidding U.S. financial entities from working with him and seizing assets believed to be under his control. The Department of Treasury keeps a fact sheet on Ibrahim which contains reports of his syndicate having smuggling routes from South Asia, the Middle-East and Africa shared with and used by terrorist organisation al-Qaeda. The fact sheet also said that Ibrahim's syndicate is involved in largescale shipment of narcotics in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. He is also believed to have contacts with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden. In the late 1990s, Ibrahim traveled in Afghanistan under the Taliban's protection. The syndicate has consistently aimed to destabilize the Indian government through riots, terrorism and civil disobedience.[8]

Washington added that they will request the United Nations to list Ibrahim "in pursuance of relevant Security Council resolutions". The UN listing will require that all UN member states freeze Ibrahim's assets and impose a travel ban. Juan Zarate, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said that they are committed to identifying and attacking financial ties between terrorism and the underworld.[7] Dawood is also suspected to have connections with terrorist organisations, and in 2002 was linked to the financing of increasing attacks in Gujarat by Lashkar-e-Toiba.[7] New Delhi handed over to Islamabad a list of 38 most wanted criminals, including Ibrahim.[3]

Dawood Ibrahim heads an organization known as the D-Company which carries out billions of dollars of operations in Bombay alone,[citation needed] he is believed to control much of the 'hawala' system, which is the very commonly used unofficial system for transferring money and remittances outside the view of official agencies. Much of the organisation's operations are in India, allegedly with the support of Govt. of Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). [9][10]

In a major blow to Ibrahim, ten members of his gang were arrested by Bombay Crime Branch on November 21, 2006. They were extradited from the United Arab Emirates, from where they had been deported.[11]

His ties with Sicilian mafia leader and other international organizations are not confirmed yet, but it is believed that the base supply of drugs and its raw materials are managed by him. Being close to Afghanistan gives him an advantage, since raw materials are made in Afghanistan. His gang members are active in Europe and other continents. The supply goes to Europe and from there to the U.S. and other countries.

It was much talked about that Dawood Ibrahim was not present at the wedding. Javed Miandad told the press that his son and Dawood's daughter met while studying together in the UK.

[edit] Decline and Ill Health

- The past few years have seen a dramatic decline in Dawood's fortunes from the heady heights of the life depicted in "Portrait of a Don" - the ground breaking expose by Ghulam Hasnain in 2001.[12]

Firstly came the death of Sharad Shetty, Dawood's financier and long term confidant, an assassination carried out by Dawood's long time rival Chotta Rajan. News media outlets reported the murder as a sign of a dramatic shift of power between the crimelords.[13] This was the seminal event in a series of blows to his criminal empire from which Dawood has never fully recovered. The loss of Shetty was followed by the declaration by the United States Treasury Department declaring Dawood a global terrorist due to his links with Osama bin Laden.[14].[14] Dawood then lost one of his closest aides, Shoib Khan in 2005,[14] a hit for which there was no retaliatory blood-letting, for which Dawood had gained infamy during the peak of his influence.

[edit] ISI Arrest 2007

According to the leading Indian Newspaper, The Times of India, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is learnt to have taken don Dawood Ibrahim into custody, along with his trusted lieutenant Chhota Shakeel and the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blasts Tiger Memon. But the Pakistan authorities deny of any knowledge. [15]

[edit] Depiction in popular media

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008)

Dawood Ebrahim's life has been a popular subject of bollywood.Randeep Hooda porteayed Dawood in the film D(see below)

[edit] Bollywood

Abraham Zogoiby, a character in Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh, is based in part on Dawood.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wanted: Shaikh, Dawood Hasan. Interpol (April 3, 2007). Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  2. ^ Dawood 4th 'most wanted' criminal on Forbes list
  3. ^ a b "Bush administration imposea sanctions on India's most wanted criminal Dawood Ibrahim", IndiaDaily, June 2, 2006.  He is also noted to have the blessings of the Pakistan government and is suspected of working with the notorious Pashtun Mafia.Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  4. ^ Subject To UN Sanctions: Kaskar, Dawood Ibrahim. Interpol (November 24, 2006). Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  5. ^ Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI)
  6. ^ a b Praveen Swami. "Mumbai's mafia wars", Interpol, March 27, 1999.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  7. ^ a b c "Dawood Ibrahim is a global terrorist: US", Rediff.com, October 17, 2003.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  8. ^ Robert Windrem. "Possible al-Qaida link to India train attacks", MSNBC, July 11, 2006.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  9. ^ The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News
  10. ^ 'ISI pressured Dawood to carry out Mumbai blasts'
  11. ^ "Dubai extradites 10 Dawood aides", Rediff.com, November 21, 2006.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  12. ^ Ghulam Hasnain. "Portrait of a Don", Newsline, September 2001.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  13. ^ Dnyanesh Jathar and Quaied Najmi. "Paying the piper: D-Company suffers yet another jolt as Sharad Shetty is killed in Dubai", The Week, February 2, 2003.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  14. ^ a b c "Dawood Ibrahim Lying Low In Islamabad", India Defence, November 21, 2005.  Retrieved on April 10, 2007
  15. ^ url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Dawood_Tiger_Memon_in_ISI_custody/articleshow/2260818.cms}}

[edit] External links

  1. Interpol site stating Dawood as wanted.
  2. At Home In Exile
    1. Donning A Monarchy
    2. The Cohorts Of Crime
    3. Leaving An Old Haven
  3. BBC Profile on Ibrahim
  4. Dawood's ISI Link
  5. - Mumbai's Mafia War
  6. CNN-IBN's Program Dawood Decoded - About his flourishing Drug Trade and fresh Passport issued by Mali