Indian authorities have taken custody of Kubbawala Mustafa, an alleged manufacturer of synthetic narcotics who was the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice, after his deportation from the United Arab Emirates. The operation was coordinated by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s International Police Cooperation Unit in partnership with INTERPOL and the Abu Dhabi office of the UAE’s Narcotics Control Bureau. Mustafa had been wanted by Mumbai Police in connection with a 2024 case involving a clandestine factory in Sangli, Maharashtra, where investigators seized about 126 kg of the stimulant mephedrone. A special court had issued an open-dated arrest warrant, and the CBI secured the Red Notice on 25 November 2024. Following a request from UAE authorities on 19 June 2025, a four-member Mumbai Police team travelled to the Emirates and escorted Mustafa to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on 11 July. He is expected to appear before a Mumbai court to face charges related to the drug-manufacturing operation.