Deadly cocktail of drug trade and police inaction-Foreign Dealers Carve Out Territories On Beache

Deadly cocktail of drug trade and police inaction
Foreign Dealers Carve Out Territories On Beaches

Panaji: With apologies to Vasco Da Gama, welcome to the tourist paradise that’s now facing a drugs-laced foreign invasion, fatal and much worse than the Portuguese one.
With Goa becoming a haven of drugs, rave and sex, its beaches have become a major market for foreign narcotics dealers. While Russians have taken over the drug business in Morjim and Arambol beaches, Israelis run the show at Vagator. The Scotts trade in Calangute and Baga and the Nigerians and Kenyans dominate Candolim.
The Goans themselves are not too far behind. In the once Hippie heartland of Anjuna, local boys are the main dealers. In 2005, the International Narcotics Control Board, India, had released a list of 248 major drug peddlers in the country, 90% of whom operated in North Goa. A year later, Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes raised the issue and also presented a list of drug dealers in the assembly. But everyone is “untouchable’’ in this sordid nexus between the peddlers, police and locals.
“I fear that soon the international drug lords will fight to gain dominance on Goa’s turf,’’ Fernandes said. But home minister Ravi Naik brushed it aside.
Investigations reveal that every tourist season popular drugs like cocaine, MDMA and ecstasy tablets are imported and sold at trance or rave parties. This year alone, approximately 500 kg of cocaine has been smuggled in by Nigerians and sold to locals by Kenyans. One gram of cocaine costs Rs 3,000 to 4,500. An ecstasy tablet ranges between Rs 400 and Rs 1,000 and a gram of pink and white powder of MDMA costs between Rs 1,000 and Rs 4,000, depending on whether it’s tourist season. The Israelis mainly deal in LSD, which costs about Rs 400 per drop.
The trade involves not just dealers and runners, but also ‘hiders’ and a ‘Mr Fixer’. “While the ‘hider’ hides the drugs for the dealer, ‘Mr Fixer’ coordinates the trade and ensures that it goes on peacefully. While the former gets Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month, ‘Mr Fixer’ gets a commission on every matter he sorts out,’’ said a rave party organizer.
A shack owner in Anjuna said the cops protect the trade as they too earn a cut. Interestingly, top cops admit there are some in the force who are complicit in the drug racket, but say they are helpless.
“Every cop and local knows who the drug dealers are and how the mafia runs in North Goa. Yet the Goa police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell seem to go after drug abusers rather than catch dealers,’’ said Fernandes. TNN