Panaji: In a late-night raid at Assonora, Bardez, the Anti Narcotic Cell of Goa Police arrested three men for smuggling 13 kgs of ganja worth Rs 13 lakhs. Two of the accused, Shashikant Kumar Gupta and Guddu Kumar Bhuiya, are natives of Jharkhand, while one local resident, Mervyn Fernandes of Assagao, Bardez, was also arrested.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Mervyn Fernandes, the local accused, is a habitual narco offender with previous cases under the NDPS Act. This year, he was arrested by the NCB Goa unit, along with his father, for possession of cocaine and charas. The accused had procured the contraband from Jharkhand, and the two arrested persons from Jharkhand came to Goa with a consignment of 10 kgs of ganja. Mervyn was additionally found in possession of 3 kgs of ganja, making the total seizure 13 kgs.
The Anti Narcotic Cell had been working on this case for the last two weeks based on a tip-off about an inter-state ganja smuggling racket, focusing on the local dealer. It was discovered during the investigation that the father of the local accused is a convicted narco offender currently in judicial custody.
Both the father and son duo were arrested by the NCB earlier this year for their involvement in drug-related activities.
Furthermore, it was also revealed that the brother of the local accused is currently in judicial custody in connection with a drug case. The raid was led and conducted by several field staff under the guidance of DySP ANC Nerlon Albuquerque and SP ANC Tikam Singh Varma (IPS).
