PANJIM: Goa has recorded the biggest jump in drug seizures between 2021 and 2022. A whopping amount of a little Rs 5.35 crore worth drugs was seized in 2022. This included 12 types of substances.
Recently at a conference to deliberate Goa, Dr Rajesh Dhume the Nodal Officer of the addiction treatment facility at the North Goa District Hospital said that substance abuse in Goa is becoming an epidemic and Cannabis is fast catching up as the gateway drug. “Tobacco was the gateway drug some years ago. My youngest addict in Mapusa was a seven-year-old and he is no longer there now,” he recollected.
Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) informed that there are 272 districts across the country including both districts of the State that have been declared as vulnerable to substance abuse problems.
While this is alarming, the story gets bigger. Goa has become a major conduit, a trading point and a hub for the international drug trade. Goa has become the focal point of psychotropic drugs. One statistic is an early sign of warning. In 2023, 85 persons have been arrested for possession of drugs in 6 months. But that begs another question- how many kingpins and Godfathers have been picked up?
Importantly, authorities involved in investigating and acting against the international and national drug lobby operating directly or through agents in Goa have absolutely no doubt that Goa has become the focal point of psychotropic drugs.
But the anti-drug police operatives believe that the drug supply in the market is falling down.
The Superintendent of Police (SP) Anti Narcotics Cell, Shivendu Bhushan said, “70 cases of possession of drugs have been registered so far this year and the seizures in the case are worth almost crore. Generally, it is seen that if the drug seizure value is more the problem and magnitude of the drug problem are more. I would disagree with that general perception,” he said. “What we like to believe is if we have more number of cases this is creating a deterrent and consequently the supply is falling down,” he said.
Let the statistics themselves reveal what more seizures mean.
The statistics have it. In 2021, 129 kg of drugs worth over Rs 2.74 crore were seized by various police stations. 121 offences were booked and 134 persons were arrested.
In 2022 the seizures doubled to drugs worth Rs 5.35 crore being seized by police stations. The weight of seized drugs was 207 kg. The amount of party drugs doubled, quadrupled in some cases.
The highest numbers of cases were done by Anti Narcotics Cell followed by Crime Branch, Calangute and Anjuna Police stations. In 2023, 70 cases have been registered with a total seizure of 71 kg of contraband to date.
The involvement of Goans in these cases is also worrisome. 24 Goans in 2021, 54 in 2022 and 25 in 2023 till now, have already been arrested by the police along with Indians and accused drugs peddlers from 11 different countries of origin.
The Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant says that through stringent actions targeting both peddlers and users, the prevalence of drug-related offences has significantly reduced.
However, records speak otherwise. Not only there has been an increase in the amount of drugs seizure, but there has been a significant increase in the number of persons arrested in drugs related offences. In 2023, a matter of 6 months, 85 persons have been arrested for possessing drugs and the amount of seizure has cross well over Rs 2.17 crore.
