There is no drug mafia in Goa, but being a tourist State, drugs are smuggled into Goa for “trade, consumption and transit”, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s written reply tabled in the State Legislative Assembly during Question Hour, on Wednesday, said.
The issue of drugs was debated by members cutting across party lines, with MLAs from the Treasury Benches as well as Opposition demanding that “a strict watch be kept on foreign students in Goa to curb the drug menace”.
Several MLAs expressed concern that the drug problem has been spreading in colleges and schools, and is no longer confined to coastal belt of the State.
When some MLAs accused Nigerian students of pushing drugs, Speaker Pramod Sawant told members not to target citizens of any specific country.
Senior Congress MLA and former Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane demanded that [foreign] students found to be involved in criminal activities and drugs be deported.
“There is no existence of a ‘drug mafia’ in Goa. However, Goa being a tourist destination, narcotic drugs are smuggled in[to] Goa for trade, consumption and transit,” the original written reply tabled on Wednesday said in response to a question from former Chief Minister and Congress MLA Digambar Kamat and others.
“The drug dealers/suspects involved in narcotic activities operate in a clandestine and well-organised manner. The information about narcotic activities is collected through sources and raids are conducted and the perpetrators of these crimes are arrested,” the reply further stated.
While Chief Minister Parrikar is currently hospitalised in Mumbai for a pancreatic ailment, his written replies were tabled and queries addressed by Sudin Dhavlikar, Minister for Public Works in the BJP-led coalition Cabinet, designated by Mr. Parrikar to act on his behalf after Mr. Dhavlikar was chosen as the leader of the House in absence of the CM.
