Team Herald
MAPUSA: Most of the drugs seizures happen in North Goa with quite a few cases being booked by Calangute and Anjuna police as these two areas are tourist hot spots.
The villagers of Calangute are unhappy to see that Calangute is being portrayed in a negative manner. They are upset with the operation of drug peddlers, pimps and prostitutes in the area, who were gaining bad light to the village.
Locals opine that this drug nexus will destroy the next generation and hence there is a need to put a stop to it by deporting Nigerian nationals from the coastal belt. Nigerians and alleged drug peddlers from other African nationalities have been arrested in course of the raids carried out in Calangute jurisdiction in the recent times.
In this month itself, this is the fourth NDPS case registered by Calangute police where a Nigerian national has been apprehended.
President of Calangute Constituency Forum Premanand Divkar demanded some sort of action to be taken as the drug issue was gaining negative publicity to the village.
“The entire coastal line from Candolim, Calangute up to Anjuna has become a drug hub for the Nigerians and other drug mafias operating in the State. It looks like drugs is freely available in coastal areas and the said activity is increasing day by day. There is a need to stop this or else this drug nexus will destroy our next generation. The people from Calangute and Candolim are very much upset over the constant drug seizures from our coastal areas that are bringing a bad name to our village. All the Nigerian nationals from the coastal areas found overstaying need to be deported immediately,” said Divkar.
While another local, Benedict D’Souza pointed out that Rs 3 crore drugs seized carried out on Tuesday was just the tip of the iceberg.
“What is the outcome of the previous raids carried out on the warehouse manufacturing drugs. In Goa, the names of the drug kingpins are yet to be disclosed. We are all upset with these constant drug raids as it is bringing a bad name to our constituency. In fact it is spreading like dengue in the entire coastal belt of Calangute but everyone is busy and no one is bothered to address this serious issue. The government should wholeheartedly start the fight against the drugs menace in the coastal belt,” said D’Souza.
