D-Company

Dawood Company is a term coined by the media for the organized criminal group controlled by wanted terrorist and crime boss Dawood Ibrahim. D-Company is directly linked to a range of organized criminal and terrorist activities in Pakistan, India, and the United Arab Emirates. Several members of the group are on the terrorist and/or wanted persons list produced by Interpol.

Overview

Dawood Ibrahim established a booming criminal syndicate in the 1980s. Ibrahim was designated by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in late 2003, following the release of information that Ibrahim allowed al Qaeda to use his smuggling routes to escape Afghanistan, and for his support of LeT. Three years later, President George W. Bush designated Ibrahim and D-Company as a significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. While it is unlikely that D-Company will ever formally assimilate into either the al Qaeda or LeT structure, the organized criminal group’s connection to and support of these terrorist groups continues to present a significant threat to peace and stability in South Asia.^[1] Not only is Ibrahim capable of smuggling terrorists, weapons, and logistical supplies across borders, but D-Company has the ability to control criminal enterprise across a region which would greatly increase al Qaeda and LeT’s potential for growth and violence.

Funding

Dawood Company generates billions of dollars in revenue from legitimate business activities such as real estate and bank overhaul transactions, as well as illegal criminal enterprises around the world, especially in India, Pakistan, and the U.A.E.^{[citation needed]} Other prominent members of the gang include Chhota Shakeel, Tiger Memon and Abu Salem, now in the custody of the Indian police. It is closely linked to a range of organized criminal and terrorist activities in South Asia, the Persian Gulf, Africa and South East Asia.The organization has a history of rivalry with the Mumbai police and other underworld dons such as Chhota Rajan, Ejaz Lakdawala, who was arrested in Canada in 2004, and Arun Gawli.

History

The Dawood Company is the largest underground business in South Asia. Its operations include arms trafficking, contract killing, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, extortion, and terrorism, being responsible for 1993 bombings in Mumbai which killed 257 people. It is alleged that D-Company planned further terrorist attacks in Gujarat following the communal riots of 2002.

In 2011, Indian intelligence agencies managed to link Dawood Company with the 2G spectrum scam, through DB Realty and DB Etisalat (formerly Swan Telecom) promoted by Shahid Balwa. Later in March security at CBI headquarters in Delhi was tightened after it had been suggested that D-Company might launch an attack in an attempt to destroy documents relating to the ongoing probe of the 2G spectrum scam.^[2][3]

In popular culture

At times, Dawood Company has been linked to the Bollywood film industry, as well as real estate and betting businesses, from which it is said to derive considerable revenue. The 2002 film Company is based loosely on its activities, as well as its prequel, the 2005 film D, Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), and the 2010 film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai.^[4] The 2013 movie Shootout at Wadala is based on the rise of the D-Company.

See also

• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
• Indian mafia
• Indian Police Service
• Research and Analysis Wing
• TADA

References

External links

• Flonnet.com, "'D' Company on the run?" FrontLine magazine report, volume 20, issue 04, 15 February–28, 2003
• HindustanTimes.com, Godfather III: The Terrorist
• OutlookIndia.com, Indian Mafia, their Ties, Updates and Experts' Opinions