Wednesday's attack by suspected Pakistanis on the city was enabled by the Dawood Ibrahim gang, police sources said. It would not have been possible to carry out a terror operation on this scale without a collaborative local network and this was provided by the D Gang. As the terrorists had entered via the sea, the needle of suspicion is clearly pointing at Mohammed Ali, the new pointsman of Dawood. Ali is known to be the king of the docks who runs a massive smuggling racket and has a grip over all coastal operations in the metropolis. He is known to indulge in smuggling of diesel, petroleum, naptha, drugs and arms with impunity and it appears that the terrorists had used his network to enter the city by the sea route. The Times Of India was the first to report (July 2, 2008) about the emergence of Ali as the key person looking after Dawood's operations in Mumbai. Despite having a detailed dossier on him, the authorities have not taken any action against him. What is more worrying is that Ali is believed to have also penetrated naval intelligence.
Dawood is holed up in Karachi and has been declared a global terrorist by the US administration. He is known to have links with the Al Qaeda and had used its network for narcotics smuggling operations out of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The fidayeens appeared to have been very clear about their targets. They targeted places frequented by foreigners in south Mumbai and knew the exact route to be taken from the coast. This was made possible by inputs provided by the D Gang, said sources.
Sources in security agencies said Dawood has made a few thousand crores in real estate transactions and is diverting a part of the funds for terror operations. The Dawood Bhai realty group has a top politician and a big-time builder as its partners. A close lieutenant of Dawood fronts for this company to get its projects cleared in Mantralaya and BMC. Currently, it is building a huge mall and a massive residential complex in the western suburbs. This frontman recently transferred Rs 120 crore in one go through hawala to Dawood, sources said.