Karim Lala
| Karim | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1911 Afghanistan |
| Died |
February 19, 2002 Mumbai |
| Occupation | smuggling jewellery, running gambling dens, extortion |
Karim Lala (1911 - February 19, 2002), born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in Kunar province of Afghanistan, was self-proclaimed 'don of Mumbai' in India. He is widely recognized as the founder and pioneer of the Indian mafia in the Mumbai area. He went to work in Mumbai’s docks in the early 1940s via Peshawar, but he rose to prominence, along with Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.Even though he was a mafia he still was helpful to the poor he was known as sultan Mirza (once upon a time in Mumbai.
Karim Lala and his fellow Mafia leaders were based in Mumbai. They were involved in smuggling jewellery, running gambling and liquor dens, extortion rackets and selling Hashish. Karim Lala was an ethnic Pashtun, he died on February 19, 2002, at the age of 90.
References
- The Hindu - Online edition of India's National Newspaper, Wednesday, Feb 20, 2002.