PANAJI
Just when it seemed the storm had settled months after Hyderabad police’s crackdown on Goa’s drug trade, a new cloud emerged. Goa’s counterparts have turned their attention to the properties owned by the operators of Curlies, a beach shack in Anjuna as well as others involved in the lethal drug trade.
The Hyderabad police have refused to let go of the case involving Edwin Nunes, the prime operator of Curlies, even after his release from a three-month imprisonment under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, 1988.
However, sources said, a significant roadblock cropped up as a report from one of the sub-registrars revealed a surprising revelation -- Edwin Nunes owns no property. The Hyderabad police are nonetheless undeterred by this setback as they are now considering writing to the Goa government seeking information on alleged hidden assets, including those held under the names of Nunes’ family members.
Reliable sources told The Goan that the suspicion of a possible link between the shack operator’s wealth and the illicit drug trade persists.
“We had written to a sub-registrar in North Goa seeking details of properties owned by Edwin Nunes. The reply report to our office mentions that the accused owns no property though we are certain the reality is otherwise. Therefore, we have decided to write to the Goa government requesting details of properties from the sub-registrars across all the talukas in Goa, of movable and immovable properties owned by Edwin, his wife and others from his family,” revealed an officer from Telangana.
Nunes’ alleged involvement in promoting the drug trade within his property surfaced after the unfortunate death of BJP leader and content creator Sonali Phogat, who reportedly succumbed to a suspected overdose in his shack last August.
Hyderabad Commissioner C V Anand (IPS) in his tweet earlier this year had appreciated his team’s efforts in cracking down on the drug trade in Goa's northern coastal belt.
“As u (you) wud (would) know, the HNEW, Hyd (Hyderabad) Narcotics Enforcement Wing, has been on a big drive to rid this city of drugs since a year and has already busted several Goa modules and the drug lords there, Edwin (Nunes), Murugan, De Souza (Stephen alias Steve D’Souza), (Pritesh) Borkar etc are now in Hyderabad jails,” he posted.
The Curlies shack remained shut for the remaining season following the partial demolition, matter which is currently pending before the apex court.
The other alleged drug peddlers, who are also booked by Hyderabad police, could also find their assets under scanner.
