A series of student deaths at the BITS Pilani campus in Goa has brought the State’s growing drug crisis into sharp focus, revealing how the drug mafia has extended its grip from party zones to academic insti tutions, villages and just about everywhere. Once seen primarily as a tourist destination, Goa is increasingly turning into a centre for the use, mixing and supply of synthetic drugs — a shift now being re flected in the number and nature of fatalities across the State. The first confirmed death due to an overdose of Fentanyl — a powerful synthetic opioid that is far more potent than morphine — was report ed on April 10, 2025, under the jurisdiction of the Valpoi Police Station. According to information ob tained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Fentanyl (an opioid drug, like morphine or heroin) was among 13 substances involved in 52 drug-related deaths reported across 14 police station jurisdictions in Goa between January and July 24, 2025.
“The protocol for the movement of Fentanyl is very tight. One needs to have a permit to even transport the drug from one place to another. It is impossible that the drug slipped out from where permission was granted for its purchase,” said Shweta Dessai, Director of the Food and Drug Admin istration (FDA). The RTI revealed that 18 of these deaths were caused by the consumption of amphetamines, 12 due to cannabis (Tetrahydrocannabinol), 12 due to Oxazepam — a sedative — seven due to a substance referred to as ACE, and one death due to an overdose of cocaine. “The situation is worrying. Compared to previous years, deaths due to consumption of drugs like cocaine and opi um have decreased, but that of what are looked at as soft drugs have increased,” said a concerned Dr Andre V Fer nandes, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Goa Medical College (GMC). Seven deaths were reported from police stations in An juna, Mandrem and Bicholim — with the first two located along the coastal belt and Bicholim in the hinterland — in dicating that drug-related fatalities are no longer confined to tourist areas alone. “The number of patients using cannabis is pretty wide spread along the hinterland. Most tend to look at cannabis or hashish as soft drugs, but the truth is different. Just be cause their use is allowed in some countries, it does not mean that they can be used here,” said Dr Tanvi Pednekar, consultant psychiatrist and District Mental Health Pro gramme officer. “It is shocking to know that a death due to use of Fen tanyl has been recorded because that drug is restricted.
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It might have been accessed through the drug market,” she added. “It cannot be through any hospital.” The RTI response also noted four deaths due to overdos es of Methamphetamine, two due to MDMA — common ly known as Molly or Ecstasy — and two deaths resulting from barbiturate overdose. Though concrete evidence on the movement of drugs re mains limited, replies to Legislative Assembly Questions in the recent session of the House pointed to an increase in the number of local drug dealers when compared to pre vious years. Several arrests were made by staff posted in police stations located in the hinterland, further indicating the spread of drug networks inland. As per the government’s response in the Assembly, 37 lo cals, 17 foreign nationals and seven individuals from other states of the country were arrested for possession of drugs during this period. “There was a wireless issued by ANC DySP Nerlon Albur querque — which was later withdrawn — that drugs were being consumed in police barracks. What can one expect under such circumstances?” asked Leader of the Opposi tion Yuri Alemao. “Drugs that were once available in the coastal belt are now available not just in colleges but also in schools and villages,” he alleged. Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) Superintendent of Police Suni ta Sawant did not respond to multiple attempts to contact her for a response before the story went to press. Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence from shopkeepers in the hinterland also hints at an alarming trend. “The demand for cigarette papers and small pouches has increased. Young sters with glazy eyes come to buy small pouches claiming they are being taken to store grams, but the truth is evi dent,” said a kiosk owner in Aldona, speaking on condition of anonymity. Dr Andre Fernandes observed that peddlers were ob taining prescription drugs from a few unscrupulous phar macies in Goa, mixing them with other chemicals, and sell ing them in the black market.
Interestingly, while the RTI recorded 52 deaths due to drug consumption in the first seven months of the year, an equal number of deaths were reported during the same pe riod due to alcohol consumption. Eight deaths caused by the presence of Ethylglucuronide — a by-product of alco hol metabolism — were recorded in the jurisdiction of the Calangute Police Station. Seven deaths were recorded in Panjim and six in Mandrem. A senior official from the Hyderabad Narcotics Enforce ment Wing (H-NEW), who had last year arrested two Goans from Anjuna for their alleged role in trafficking drugs to other states, said, “Goa has slowly changed from a drug destination to a laboratory where synthetic drugs are made, mixed and then supplied to other parts of the country.
