PANJIM: In 2019 Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said in the state assembly that the presence of ‘drug mafia’ in the state is only a rumour.
The North Goa District Police today told Herald that his department and the Anti-Narcotics cell are active in conducting seizures. While in May 2021 the drug seizures were worth Rs 1 crore in May 2022, the drug seizures have doubled to Rs 2 crore, SP North Shobit Saxena said.
In July 2019, reacting to questions regarding the presence of the drug mafia in Goa, CM Sawant had said “there are only rumours and no confirmed knowledge of the existence of ‘Drug Mafia’ in Goa. However, Goa being a tourist destination, narcotic drugs are being smuggled in for trade, consumption, and transit”. It is likely that was misled or not fully informed about the presence of organized drug gangs since the SP North is reporting a doubling of seizures in May 2022 compared to May 2021.
According to the Anti-Narcotics Cell, the Calangute police arrested Vikas Rathod near a resort in Calangute, with a 10kg haul of drugs. The drugs are valued at Rs 10 lakh in the international market.
Superintendent of Police North Goa, Shobit Saxena said that it was a closely monitored operation, without giving any details.
“We have strong links from where the drugs originated. It had links with the activity of security guard, Sandesh Varak (28), caught with drugs at Colvale jail” SP North Shobit Saxena told Herald TV. Varak, from Pernem, conspired with a prisoner Satish Koli in Colvale Jail to procure and supply the drugs.
Varak was found in possession of ganja weighing 208 grams and seven grams of cocaine, all worth Rs 1.4 lakh. He was working as a security guard for the Goa Human Resource Development Corporation (GHRDC) and was posted at Colvale Jail.
