The disclosure by the North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan on Tuesday that Goa police seized an average of 45 kg of drugs every month is alarming. Moreover, it also gives an insight into the volume of narcotics moving in Goa, considering all is not seized. The SP, however, sounded positive in dealing with the situation and stated that drug peddlers, including Goans, would be brought to justice.
While on the same Tuesday, a young tourist who was recovering from a suspected drug overdose, on her discharge from a private hospital, stated that an unknown person sold her energy pills while at a nightclub in Vagator. Preliminary medical samples have detected traces of drugs. The question is whether the ‘energy pills’ story is sustainable for the police not to act. Interestingly, the need to buy energy pills at such an exorbitant price raises suspicion. Her contention of not knowing the supplier could be accepted, not the explanation that she did not know what was consumed.
The point here is while the police chief has illustrated the alarming situation that Goa is facing in terms of drugs and promised action, the deterrents have been out of focus. Drug cases are hitting a dead end. While the police are tightening entry points and launching manhunts for drug sellers, there is no credible action against consumers. If authorities are worried that such a crackdown will impact tourists and tourism, the war on drugs would be a meaningless and superfluous exercise that will change nothing.
The weekend saw the Narcotics Control Bureau arresting a father-daughter tourist duo for possessing a cocktail of party drugs. The 19-year-old Russian girl was caught with 50 pills of Ecstasy while her father carried a combination of various other drugs, including hashish and mephedrone. A 20-year-old Siridao boy was arrested for drug trafficking after flowering and fruiting tops of the cannabis plant were found concealed in his two-wheeler. The 2.06 kg of suspected ganja was valued at Rs 2.10 lakh in the international market. This is yet another worrisome side of the Goa drug story. While the quantum of contraband seized has increased substantially, the involvement of locals, mainly in the age group of 19 to 25, has also increased substantially. The narcotic whirlpool is growing, and unfortunately Goan youth are getting sucked into it.
DGP Jaspal Singh’s move to fortify coastal policing with additional forces is a welcome move against crime that is on the rise. However, expecting the coastal police to crack down against those dealing in drugs is far-fetched because some in the force are very much partners in this crime; let’s not forget the infamous drug-nexus case. And the Hyderabad police team that has been making abortive attempts to pick up kingpins from Goa will testify to this.
The police bosses need to try new strategies because enhanced policing may not get the desired results; on the contrary, that will open up better stakes and avenues for some tainted men in the ranks.
