We begin with an appeal to be forgiven for starting this Sunday edit with a somewhat revolting recollection. About 20 years ago Menino Felix Fernandes of Anjuna was caught by a young lady PSI with a consignment of heroin. While that itself was big news, it wasn’t easy to “extract” the heroin from this notorious heroin dealer. It was hidden in his underpants and other male officers were refusing to dig deep to lay hands on the illegal bounty. This fiery lady PSI decided to take matters in her own hands and had to carry out the unenviable and disgusting task of holding the man, reaching out into his inner rear recesses where the consignment was hidden and extract the heroin.
Two decades later, on February 16, 2018, the same man was found with 67 gms of MDMA and 10 grams of cocaine, a clear indication that synthetic drugs are being brought from abroad and Goa has become a conduit for collection and distribution.
Shockingly senior police officers state that Fernandes “has been dealing in drugs for decades”. This begs the next question, if he is dealing in drugs for decades, who has allowed him to rampantly do this? This also begs another question. If one Menino Fernandes, who had heroin extracted from his underpants ten years ago, is still in the heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs business, how many more Meninos are still breeding in the underbelly of Goa’s drug trade which is now in your face? Nothing is hidden, nothing is subtle and nothing is secret. It stares at you in the face.
The latest seizure of the drug consignment is laudable but in the act, stands exposed the extent to which our land is being used, not just for consumption but as a trading point for internationally sourced drugs. And if sources are to be believed this consignment of cocaine has arrived from Amsterdam. If that is correct, then it exposes what is already exposed. Taking advantage of Goa’s porous borders, the consignment was brought to Goa by land, sea or air. There is every reason to believe that this has been a recurring trait over decades or else how does it explain Menino’s continuous uninterrupted run as a drug dealer who has now been caught red handed?
While we get into the heat and dust of this case, incidents like this should be an opportunity to introspect and act. While the system goes after drug peddlers and those who carry minimum quantities of drugs (as it should), Goa must involve all central agencies and also hand over parts of the investigation to them, to track and subvert the continuous activity of international drugs moving into Goa.
While this is being done, we need to look at the Manali ( Himachal Pradesh) connection since it is absolutely clear that drugs are actually cultivated in fields in the hills of Himachal for supply and consumption, to Goa. The very fact that both domestic and international imports of drugs have continued over decades is evidence that there have been interests in the highest levels of administration and governance, who have benefited from the economics of this trade. Or else, it is not logically possible for a cocaine dealer to carry on his business for over decades when so many legitimate businesses in Goa have suffered and folded up.
We know the world loves Goa, but it appears that notorious drug dealers, who roam freely in markets and in music festivals, love Goa even more.
