Cops crack down on drug dens

Cops crack down on drug dens
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: Anjuna, once the beach of the hippie and the flower child, is now crawling with the law. It has taken the rape and death of Scarlette Keeling to get the government to crack down on the drug nests that flourish on the northern coastal belt of Goa, and in and around Anjuna.
From shack raids and night patrols of the beach to booking cases against foreign tourists for overstaying, the Anjuna police’s truncheon is being excerised like never before. Home minister Ravi Naik has directed the Anti Narcotic Cell to raid all suspected drug joints and the immigration staff has been told to book foreign tourists who have overstayed. In the last year, 104 such foreigners have been deported.
Naik said foreign nationals used every excuse to stay on long after their visa had expired—while some said that they had incomplete business projects other claimed they needed to complete their education at a local college. “They continue to flunk in the same class three or four times to stay on. Mostly, the Israelis and Nigerians use this pretext. But now, to curb the problem, we have requested principals not to give admission to such students,’’ said Naik.
Drug peddling is another big problem. In the last three years, 39 Indians and 35 foreign nationals (mainly from Nepal) have been arrested and drugs worth crores of rupees seized. “We have also alerted the charter flight operators as drugs are often trafficked via charter flights,’’ said Naik.
On a Sunday night beach patrol, 42 persons, whose movements were deemed suspicious, were picked up. Cases have also been filed against two party venues, in Anjuna and Pernem, for playing loud music.
“We have decided that all bars will have to close by 11 pm and restaurants which have a bar will have to close by midnight,’’ added Naik. 23 detained in molestation case
The Colva police on Monday detained 23 people suspected to be involved in the alleged molestation of a German woman on the Cavelossim beach. They were, however, released after the initial investigations. The woman, in her complaint, has alleged “a man with dark complexion’’ had pounced on her and pulled at her swimwear when she was bathing in shallow water on the Cavelossim beach last Friday. “There were no people around me and my friend was away from the scene when the accused appeared,” the 27-year-old victim, who works for the German State Authority, said in her statement. TNN

2008 Mar 18 Times Of India Mumbai