Goa: Migrants to seamen, illegal arms just a contact away

MARGAO: When matka king Guru Poojari was shot dead by hired gunmen at Khareband, Margao, on November 23, 1999, it was Goa’s earliest epiphany about arms and the underworld. Nine months later, on August 18, 2000, Poojari’s close friend and an eyewitness to his murder, Mohammed Pandiyal, was gunned down.
A year after Pandiyal’s killing, Goa police arrested a history-sheeter and claimed to have recovered country-made guns, hi-tech pen pistols, a telescopic gun, revolvers and a rifle.
But two decades later, the illegal gun ownership in the state has undergone a metamorphosis—from being a symbol of violent underworld gangs to becoming a status symbol.
The illegal gun trade in Goa is one of the worst kept secrets. It operates mainly through middlemen, who place orders to the (illegal) dealers, who in turn supply the arms to them for delivering the consignment to the clients.
“The dealers, most of the times, do not even know who their clients are. Everything lies with the middlemen, and they are the ones who bear the loss or face the consequences in case of a botched-up transaction,” a police officer said.
Sources said deals can easily be struck with any neighbourhood labour-class migrant hailing from places like northeastern states, Rajasthan, Bihar and West Bengal, who will be ever too willing to procure a gun from their native states—and make a quick buck.
“If the middleman is able to sense your urgency, he will sell you the katta he bought for Rs 10,000 for upwards of Rs 1 lakh. But if you have some knowledge of arms, you can bargain hard and get it for Rs 10,000 too,” said a senior police officer.
“There could be many among the migrant workforce who may have a criminal background and could have found Goa to be a safe escape route. To defend themselves from their enemies back home, there’s every possibility that they possess a gun, and of course, an unlicenced one. Most of this migrant workforce is engaged in the industrial estates,” the police officer said.
The porous India-Nepal border also facilitates smuggling of arms, some of which invariably land in Goa, said Sujit Ali (name changed to protect identity), who once possessed several illegal guns. He should know, for he had flown to Nepal while on the run before he was arrested.
Ali also revealed some of the ways by which arms are sourced illegally in Goa, as well as some of the tricks employed in the trade.
“Befriend a migrant worker from north or northeastern states and win his trust. If you are on a shoe-string budget, this is the route to try,” Ali said.
The second route, Ali said, is sourcing the arms from the grey market. “If a seaman has adequate knowledge of guns, he can easily procure it from the grey market overseas and find resourceful ways to send it across to you. I know of many who have procured guns in this manner,” he said.
The third is for those, Ali said, who are affluent. “As it is difficult and time-consuming to get a licence for guns, I will approach my friend who has an arms licence, and ask him to buy me a gun. An arms licence allows one to keep up to three weapons.”
Ali said women are also used as a trade-in to buy illegal arms, thereby suggesting that gun trafficking also facilitates flesh trade.
Goa’s tryst with shootouts and illegal guns has been there for over two decades now. Looks like, not much has changed since then.