Over 100 venues to be on police radar for narcotics

Panaji: Following chief minister Pramod Sawant’s decision to check and raid clubs and late-night party venues in the state, over 100 such establishments, including shacks operating along the coastal belt, are likely to be under the surveillance of the Goa police.
A senior police officer said the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) and local police stations will jointly monitor clubs and late-night party venues. “We will conduct searches or raids only when we are sure there is consumption of narcotic substances at the establishment in question,” the officer said while adding that the intelligence-gathering network will also be strengthened to prevent drugs from entering Goa.
Venues where there have already been drug seizures will be kept on high surveillance, the police said.
Over the past two months, drugs worth Rs 70 lakh have been seized by the police. The force presently has no foolproof system to check the entry of narcotics into the state. Even Sawant had recently dodged questions from reporters over why the police have failed to stop drugs from permeating Goa’s borders.
According to the police, drugs are smuggled into the state mainly via rail, air, buses and private vehicles. There was a lull in activity during the Covid-induced lockdown, during which time Goa’s borders were shut, but now, the increase in tourism has seen a proportionate rise in drugs entering the state, the police said.
It is mostly foreigners who deal in synthetic drugs that are widely used at parties, the police said.
On Monday, the police arrested British national Stephen Slotwiner, 76, at Pernem for illegal possession of drugs which included ganja weighing 512.2g worth Rs 51,000, 40 ecstasy tablets weighing 17.7g worth Rs 1.7 lakh, 26 LSD papers weighing 1.1g worth Rs 2.6 lakh, MDMA weighing 80g worth Rs 8 lakh, and 26 LSD capsules weighing 15.3g worth Rs 2.6 lakh.
Last week, the Anjuna police had arrested Mithun Gopal, 27, a native of Bengaluru, for possessing methamphetamine. They said he had purchased the drug in Bengaluru and had travelled with it to Goa to attend a party.