TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Despite arrest of 88 accused, booking of 48 cases and seizure of two kg of hard drugs last year, estimated at around Rs four crore, police refuse to tag Goa as drug haven. Instead they said the rapid rise in the abuse of prescription drug was their major concern.
During an informal interaction with media persons at police head quarters on Friday, Director General of Police T N Mohan said the large amount of seizures indicates the presence of narcotics. In the same breath, he clarified that Goa is not a narcotics haven nor does it have law and order problems like Mexico which has drug cartels.
“In my opinion, there is presence of drugs…it is still my opinion that Goa is not Mexico. Goa does not have the kind of mafia, large seizures and lawlessness,” he said.
“Any tourist destination in the world will have things like that…there are certain negatives connected with it.”
He also said Goa is not a transit point for drugs like Jalandhar city in Punjab where thousands of tons of hard drugs were shipped which were subsequently supplied to the local community, especially the youth. Mohan said this is also an “election issue” in Punjab.
“We don’t have big fear of drugs as its presence is in nominal amount. The problem is not uncontrolled or spiraling. It is well under our gaze …we have a lid on it” he claimed.
However, the major concern for the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) is the sale of prescription drugs at the backdrop of large quantity of seizure in the recent past.
“A sizeable amount of prescription drugs has been seized…it should be taken seriously as they are categorized as hard drugs …two kg of drugs were seized last year” he disclosed. He informed that they are coordinating with the Food and Drugs Administration to ensure that the menace is curtailed.
The ANC made the highest seizure last year wherein Goa Police booked a total of 48 cases and arrested 88 accused persons. The value was estimated at around Rs four crore.
