Team Herald
PANJIM: As the news of a high-profile racket busted on a Goa-bound cruise ship is doing rounds with at least a dozen including actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan in custody, State Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said the tourist State does not need people who take drugs.
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Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) 22-member team led by Zonal Director Sameer Wankhade unearthed the lethal nexus during a raid onboard the ship mid-sea last Saturday. The cruise ship, was to dock in Goa on Sunday and return to Mumbai on Monday.
Ongoing investigation revealed that among the arrested, the alleged accused were also supposed to collect their consignment from Goa. The information is however being ascertained by the NCB team.
Against the backdrop of the latest development, Ajgaonkar said the government is strict in cracking down on drug consumption by tourists. “We do not want people who take drugs. We are strict. Goa should be clean of drugs and garbage,” he said while responding to a media question to react to the arrests in Mumbai, on the sidelines of a government event on Monday. The NCB Mumbai and Goa team had recently arrested actor Arjun Rampal’s partner Gabriella Demetriades’ brother Agisilaos Demetriades from his house at Pernem for possessing drugs.
The State, after a lull owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, has recorded unprecedented arrivals of domestic tourists whilst resumption of casinos, cinema halls, film/ad/TV shootings has also led to increase in the influx.
