Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Police’s crackdown on drug menace continued with another major seizure of Rs 34.65 lakh recorded during raids within 12 hours.
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The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) teams swooped down at three locations at tourist-popular Pernem coastal stretch between 7.20 pm on Saturday and 7.30 am on Sunday and arrested natives of Uttrakhand, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh for illegal possession of huge quantum of drugs.
A press statement issued by ANC SP Mahesh Gaonkar states that Chhtra Singh alias Shiva, aged 36 years, was caught red-handed in possession of 2.100 kg of charas amounting to Rs 10.50 lakh approx. Being the first arrest in the series of raid, the Uttrakhand origin living in Goa, was caught from a rented premises at Arambol.
In the following raid in an open space at Arambol, Chandan Singh, (35) was found in illegal possession of 2.390 kg of charas worth around Rs 11.95 lakh. In the final raid, also in Arambol; HP native Raju Lama (35) was caught with 2.500 kg of charas valued at Rs 12.20 lakh approx. Gaonkar informed that the raids were conducted after tracking the peddlers for past few days.
The State police have been on a raiding spree against the drug menace with sizeable amount of drugs being caught from alleged peddlers, amounting to crores of rupees.
In a recent raid, Pernem Police raided a cannabis plantation and seized the contraband worth Rs 20 lakh. Last month, another cannabis plantation from the house of a local family was raided, amount of which was recorded at Rs 1.02 crore approx. The two months of raid in the same taluka has seen sixth raid on cannabis plantation in a span of two months.
Overall records indicate that the police have seized narcotics drugs worth Rs 6.7 crore in total this year, so far, as compared to total seizure amount of Rs 5.5 crore last year.
