The raid on a cannabis plantation at Gaudewada, Mandrem and the arrest of two Russians for this is yet more evidence of foreigners getting into crime when holidaying in Goa. The raiding party found that the two Russians – Aleksei Peravalov and Aleksei Rebriev were growing the cannabis in a flat they had rented after having created the environment for the proper growth of the plant with the use of tubelights, exhaust fans and other equipment. The police discovered five fully grown cannabis plants, and 2.5 kg of dry ganja worth totally Rs 3.5 lakh. Besides the arrest of the Russians, the police have also booked the owner of the flat who had rented it to the Russians.
In recent weeks there have been a number of cases of tourists being arrested for crime in Goa ranging from rave parties to gambling to drug peddling to fake currency to ATM skimming. This is also not the first time that foreigners have been arrested for cultivating cannabis in their homes, but this is the first case since the lockdown. In the past years, but not too long ago, at least half a dozen foreigners have been arrested on charges of growing drugs in their homes and compounds. There was the arrest of Russian tourist Ilia Alexsandrovich Shtennikov and the seizure of cannabis plants from his apartment in Pernem in March 2019. In December 2018, Russian couple Viacheslar Terekhin and Anna Asharova, had been held for allegedly growing cannabis in their rented apartment in Anjuna. Before that, police had arrested another foreigner Christopher Michael Pattison for growing cannabis in Alto Porvorim.
The above cases are of foreign tourists growing cannabis in their rented homes in Goa, and not of other crimes that other travellers may be involved in, which are many, especially related to the use and peddling of narcotics. It is also pertinent that in relation to growing cannabis, most of the foreigners arrested are Russian nationals. A question to be probed is what were the Russians doing in Goa as repatriations flights due to the lockdown had been arranged to fly back stranded tourists and no foreigners have landed in Goa unless for specific purposes.
There are two issues involved here – one is that the State can no longer ignore the fact or play it down that crimes by foreign nationals are increasing, the other is that Goa is now not just a user of narcotics but a producer. The sporadic cases of growing of cannabis reveal that this could be a much larger problem than it is currently being looked at, but it is not just cannabis that is produced in Goa. Recall that in June 2018, the authorities had raided an industrial shed at Pissurlem industrial estate and busted a ketamine producing racket. Some 100 kg of ketamine had been seized in the raid and that quantity was surely not meant entirely for local consumption. This was supposed to be an international drug racket, as the raid had been part of a concerted effort by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence that had raided places across the country.
Unless there are concerted and continuous efforts to bust the drug racket in the State, Goa will not be free of narcotics. The arrest of small-time drug peddlers and growers of cannabis will not dent the network that surely exists, given that hardly a week passes before there is a drug haul somewhere in Goa. The current period, when tourism is still struggling to return to normal, is the best time to smash the drug trade in the State and clean up the coastal areas. The State should not be allowed to turn into an illicit narcotics growing and manufacturing haven. The action by the authorities has to be strict.
