One drug bust every week, yet

Goa claims theres no drug

mafia
by Sep 9, 2014

#Congress #Drug mafia #Drugs #Goa #Goa Police #Hashish #Kishen Kumar #LSD #Manohar
Parrikar#marijuana #Metamphetamine #NDPS Act #States #Sunil
Kauthankar #ThatsJustWrong #TN Mohan
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Panaji: With almost Sabbath like regularity, a drug den or a drug dealer is busted almost
once week in Goa, according to state police records.
Amid controversial statements made by the state's top cop and top politician in the recent
past that there is no drug mafia in existence in Goa, police records on drug raids accessed by
Firstpost from 2011 to 2013 seem to suggest otherwise: that police drug-busts in the narcotourism paradise occur once every week.

An anti-drugs banner. AFP

Police statistics show that in 2011, 53 cases were registered under the Narcotics Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 55 were registered in 2012 and in 2013, 50 cases were
registered under the same act. In all 158 cases were registered from 2011-2013, which
amounts to almost one case booked every week.
Over 119 Indian nationals were arrested in the last three years for possession and

attempting to sell drugs ranging from natural drugs like hashish and marijuana to exotic
synthetic drugs like LSD and Metamphetamine also known as MDMA.
Interestingly, statistics also show that more than a third of the drug seizures, involved
foreign nationals, mainly Nigerians. Thirty-four Nigerians were busted during the 158 drug
raids from 2011-13, which effectually means that every fourth raid conducted by state police
station raiding teams and the elite Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Goa Police netted one Nigerian
national for possession or selling dope.
Drug war involving Nigerian nationals, including some linked to drug trade and a local drug
gang operating from the notorious coastal village of Chapora, 25 km north of Panaji, had
spilled on the streets in October last year. The protesting Nigerians had flung a corpse of a
slain compatriot allegedly murdered by local drug dealers on the National Highway 17,
blocking traffic for hours, even beating policemen and local bystanders present on the
scene.
Israelis, British, Portuguese nationals, and alleged drug peddlers from other African
nationalities were also arrested in course of the raids, records show. The biggest drug haul
in the last three years, turned out to be a Rs 2.05 crore worth seizure of MDMA (weighing
4.140 kg) in October last year. Gary Baird, a 45-year-old British national is facing trial in
connection with the seizure. The smallest seizure incidentally was a seizure of marijuana
worth Rs 80 from a local resident, 20-year-old Amit Pujari, in April 2013.
Police surveillance on disc jockeys (DJs) peddling drugs in Goa's coastal belt, home to the
famous rave parties and other dos, also netted three significant heists. British national and
DJ Allan Bainbridge (48) was arrested by the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) for possession of
drugs like Ecstasy and LSD worth Rs 21 lakh at Anjuna. Bainbridge was already facing trial
for possession of hashish in the past.
In 2013, Japanese DJ Yasuji Hinagata was arrested for possessing charas and LSD worth Rs
8 lakh. In 2012, a Chennai-based sound engineering student was arrested by the Goa Police
for possession of a stash of various psychotropic drugs worth Rs. 8 lakh.
The big seizures casts a spell of doubt over repeated public denials by Chief Minister
Manohar Parrikar and Director General of Police (DGP) TN Mohan, both of whom said
there were no drug mafias operating in in Goa. "There are drugs in Goa... It is still my
opinion that Goa is not Mexico. Goa does not have a mafia or a lawlessness which is there is
those places," Mohan claimed earlier in May. Parrikar told the recently concluded monsoon
session of the Goa legislative that: "there are no organized gangs which specialize in

distribution of drugs in the state".

The Congress has alleged that such statements despite overwhelming statistics showed
something was fishy and reflected badly on the police force who were cracking down on the
drug industry players. "It is a slap on the face of those honest police officers and people who
are fighting against the drug mafia in Goa," says Congress spokesperson Sunil Kauthankar.
A legislative committee report has indicted former home minister Ravi Naik and his son Roy
for their alleged links to the Israeli drug mafia operating in Goa. The same report had also
called Mohan's predecessor, DGP Kishen Kumar the "kingpin" as far as providing police
protection to the drug mafia operating in the state is concerned.

Mafia wars rule drug trade in Goa's beach belts

TNN | Dec 29, 2012, 01.34AM IST

CALANGUTE/MAPUSA: Although a number of drug mafias are said to be operating

in the tourism hotspots of North Goa's coastal areas, the police have only managed
to crackdown on the Nigerian cartel operating in the Calangute area. Out of the 50odd drug raids all over Goa this year, the maximum-17-have taken place in
Calangute, while areas like Anjuna, Morjim and Arambol, considered strongholds of
the drug mafia, have seen only a handful of raids. Even these raids have only netted
the small fish, with the Russian, Israeli and local drug lords apparently enjoying
immunity, allegedly due to a police-drug mafia nexus.
The Russians and Israelis deal in drugs like MDMA, ecstasy and charas, according to
sources. The Nigerians allegedly control the cocaine rackets. A former police
inspector at the Anjuna police station, Ashish Shirodkar, along with six other
policemen, has already been arrested and suspended for his role in the drug mafiapolice nexus which was first exposed around two years ago. But the nexus continues,
according to sources, who claim that drug dealers provide information to the police
about the tourists, mostly foreigners, who buy drugs from them. From P1
The police then "raid" the rented accommodation of the tourists and catch them with
the drugs. The tourists are then forced to pay a large amount of money, usually in
euros or dollars, to the police in order to escape imprisonment. In return, the drug
dealers and peddlers are allowed to operate with impunity.
In drug circles, the Chapora market area is also allegedly the 'drug market' of Goa,
where drug dealers and couriers meet to discuss deals in one or the other bar or
restaurant there.
Towards the north, the Russians have virtually taken strong control of the trade in
the Morjim-Arambol belt. For over half-a-decade their presence has been strong in
the area and they seem to have managed to involve some local youngsters to push
the drugs. Soft drugs are easily available in the area, but for hard drugs for groups, it
would take an hour-and-a-half to procure, say sources.
But with Calangute police conducting 17 raids, arresting 18 alleged drug peddlers,

most of them Nigerians, since the new BJP-led government took charge in March,
the drug mafia comprising Nigerians and locals is reportedly on the run. Calangute
police have also arrested a large number of Nigerians with fake or expired visas, all
of whom are said to be involved in the drug mafia.
Despite this, the police have not been able to catch the big fish.
Calangute PI Nolasco Raposo said the Nigerians are well-networked over the
internet and phone and even while interrogating the arrested Nigerians, it is very
difficult to extract information from them about the source of the cocaine. "The
drugs are brought in by Nigerians themselves and then distributed to other
Nigerians," Raposo said, adding that most of their tip-offs have come through local
drug addicts who have been falling into the police net.
Sources said that some of these local drug addicts provide police with information
about the Nigerians when the Nigerians demand payment for the drugs supplied to
them.
Police have arrested Abel, Dilip and Tyronne-three big names in pushing drugs-in
the last few months, besides some drug addicts who were caught for petty thefts.
"The drug addict needs money to buy drugs everyday. He will look for an
opportunity to pounce on a tourist or snatch a bag," Raposo said, explaining the
reason for the many petty thefts reported on the beaches. "If you see their plight in
the lock-up, when they don't get drugs, it's very pitiable," he added.
With the Calangute police turning on the heat, the Nigerians have moved into
villages like Parra and Siolim where they are still able to find rental accommodation.
It is learnt that nobody in the coastal villages of Candolim or Calangute now rent out
premises to Nigerians because of their involvement in the narcotics trade. Said an
anti-narcotics cell official, "The people should stop renting out accommodation to
drug peddlers. They all know who the drug peddlers are, especially in Anjuna, but
nobody informs the police."

Ecstasy, honey-traps and the mafia the Goan party

becomes deadly
November 08, 2013

A state known for tourism is now infested with drug cartels.

By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: Think tourism and the image of Goa loom large. The petite picture
post-card state on Indias west coast is blessed with pristine beaches, dazzling
sunshine and a romantic monsoon, not to speak of the exotic local cuisine. It has
always been a getaway for the Indian and the foreign tourist alike.
But today statistics have a different story to tell. The tourism ministrys annual
report of 2012 does not have Goa being mentioned anywhere in the 20 page
document. Despite its 1000 plus dedicated charter flights, Goa shares less than
10% of foreign tourist traffic. Meanwhile, a legislative report on the police-drug
mafia nexus in Goa has virtually reinforced the states reputation as the top narcotourism destination in the country, a popular perception that the state is fast
trying to shrug off.
A report of the committee, chaired by legislator Francisco alias Mickky Pacheco of
the Goa Vikas Party, exposes the deeply entrenched drug mafia blessed by the
police and political echelons. The role of police in fostering the drug trade in the
state came to light three years ago after Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse
uploaded a video on YouTube that showed her former Israeli drug dealer boyfriend
Yaniv Benaim alias Atala of boasting of his connections with the police and
politicians.
Now when you put the falling tourist levels and the rise of the drug cartels
together, a picture emerges that of a decadent state in the grip of mafia cartels.
The recent murder of Obina Paul, a Nigerian, all fall into place like a jig saw puzzle.
Security officials in Goa talk about how the Nigerian drug cartel was aware of an
eminent police crackdown on them and stage managed this murder as a move to
distract attention away from them. Through this act, the cartel had ensured that
this would lead to protests and later a diplomatic tussle. Paul is said to have been
one of the moles who informed the narcotic cell leading to a seizure of drugs worth

Rupees one crore. The drug cartel had faced many such losses in the past,
especially after Karthik Kashyap took over as the anti-narcotic chief in Goa.
Officials also say that the mafia, with this killing, also wanted to convey a message
to the moles and also bring about diplomatic pressure to safeguard Nigerian
citizens living in the state.
In fact this is exactly what happened. A series of violent protests, followed by a
diplomatic row with Nigeria. In turn, the African nation has issued a not so veiled
threat that the Indians there would not be spared if a crackdown happens in India.
Goa has one of the most powerful drug cartels and mafia in the entire world which
is controlled by the Russians, Israelis and the Nigerians. The Nigerians have taken
over a considerable amount of control over the drug cartel in Goa with key
operations in Calangute, Anjuna, Arambol and Morjim, according to the antinarcotic cell.
The drugs themselves are categorized amongst cartels in order of availability in
Goacocaine is with the Nigerians, the Russians have marijuana and charas while
the Israelis deal with Ecstasy.
The biggest evidence to the drug trade in Goa was when a video of Yaniv Benaim
Atala, the most powerful Israeli drug lord, went up on the Internet where he speaks
about the manner in which the Goan police and top politicians hobnob with these
cartels.
This had led to the arrest of several cops, including an inspector at Anjuna, Ashish
Shirodhkar. It has also revealed how the nexus worked. The drug dealers first
supply drugs to foreign tourists and then give out information about them to the
police. The police in turn conduct the raid and demand huge sum of money in
dollars. They are then given immunity which in turns allows the drug peddlers to
trade without the fear of getting caught.
The anti-narcotic officials say that the drug trade in Goa is worth Rs. 6000 crore
per year and most of the drugs are sourced from Afghanistan and Pakistan. All the
drugs land in an unmanned area of a Goan coast. Most of the states coast still
remained unprotected, unlike the rest of the coast in the country, which have
stepped up operations after the attacks of 26/11. According to investigations,

nearly 90 per cent of the drugs arrive by sea while the rest are brought in mainly
by the Russian mafia in chartered flights.
Police point to the politician-mafia nexus. There are several legislators with whose
blessings these cartels function. The biggest draw for the drug cartels are the rave
parties and this is where most of the drugs sell. Rave parties normally organized
on beaches have the protection of the local legislators.
Out of the 18 raids that were conducted in the past year, it has been found that
there were at least 30 drug peddlers, all from Nigeria, operating in North Goa.
Many of the Nigerians were over staying in Goa even after their visas had expired.
The dynamics of drug trade in Goa: the Russians are the oldest in this profession.
They, however, adhere to a strict code. They supply drugs only to their nationals
and there is a sense of loyalty which helps them survive. The nearly 60,000
Russians who arrive in Goa each year is enough clientele to keep their business
intact. The Nigerians relied however on other nationalities to peddle drugs which
led to major crackdowns. The Russians normally use real estate business as a
front for drugs.
The modus operandi of the Israelis has been the honey traps to lure in their
customers. This cartel often peddles soft drugs, which could be ecstasy or the date
rape variety. They rely on women as their carriers who operate mainly at Anjuna
and parts of South Goa who pick up men and sell them drugs costing anything
between 100 to 300 dollars.
Goas drug scene has evolved from the 70s-80s, when natural drugs like hashish
and grass were the toast of the times, along with the occasional acid trips during
beachside raves. One of the old timer drug dealer had a different story to tell.
James Jenny, who was arrested for hoarding nearly 20 kg. of ganja in the early 90s
spoke about his life later after his release. He would buy nearly a quintal of ganja
from the Silent Valley forests, which spread across three Indian states of
Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
I used to lug a 25 kg. sack of ganja on my back and walk along Anjuna, Ozrant
and Vagator beach selling my stock. Life was so easy then, Jenny claims.
The game and the turf has changed today. Its become a fast changing complex
corporate affair. According to Eduardo Faleiro, a former union minister of state for

external affairs, the business of narcotics is more corporate oriented. It is

controlled by foreigners, who have their fixed areas to operate from, and often
prefer to cater to fixed nationalities.

For Goa's drug lords, Gokarna

is next stop
Monday, 2 December 2013 - 12:28pm IST | Place: Karwar | Agency: dna
NDPS investigators keeping a close watch on Nigerians coming to Om beach.

The drug mafia in Goa, which fought a ruthless turf war recently, has spread
its tentacles to neighbouring Karnataka, and has begun to operate from the
Om beach in Gokarna.

The police in Gokarna have spotted many Nigerians arriving in the town
housing the religious shrine, which, according to them is a new and alarming
trend. So far, Nigerians were not keen on visiting Om beach which is just a
pleasant drive away from this religiously inclined township.
The town, known for its Shiva temple and the skills of its purohits to perform
the last rites of Hindus, is now under surveillance of the Narcotics and
Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) sleuths.
A senior official with the NDPS cell of the State police said they had confirmed
reports that a few
Nigerian nationals having links with drug peddlers in Goa were trying to
operate from Karnataka, after one of them was killed during the gang war in
the western Indian state.
The foreigners seem to be moving to Gokarna, after failing to set up shop in
Canacona or Palaolim, said a senior official of the NDPS cell of the state
police. The department has also sensitized the local hotels, resorts and local
groups of people and fishermen youths about the influx of the foreigners.
The turf war over drugs that broke out in Goa earlier this month took the toll of
one Nigerian national Obina Paul which brought the entire Nigerian group into
open as they blocked the roads in the Goa and the government of Goa started
cracking down on not just Nigerian drug mafia but also the local and Russian
drug peddlers according to BJP functionaries in Mapusa, Majorda and Anjuna
the MLAs of their areas have asked the local fringe groups to intensify their
vigil against the drug peddlers.

Sources in the police say that patrolling has been intensified on few beaches
of UttaraKannada and towns like Karwar, Kumta and Gokarna. Intelligence
exchanges between the police have also been happening in Southern
maritime districts like Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
One of the threats that Nigerians have handed to the Goa government after
Obina Paul died, was that the government should know there were number of
Indians living in Nigeria, they have taken our jobs and some of us who were
students cannot go back as there were no jobs, so we continue to stay here
and try to earn money through peddling. If the government here harasses us
think about Indians in Nigeria, this political observation made by the Nigerians
has been viewed seriously by the Goan government. The next step will be to
take the help of the Ministry of External Affairs to deal with the illegally
overstaying Nigerians, which was now on the cards.
The beaches in Karnataka would not be easy for the foreign drug mafia to
take over.We have posted our youth activists on all beaches right from Mazali
to Om beach, said Sudhir Prabhu, member of the Bajrang Dal. We will not
take law into our hands but only act as a pressure group and inform police and
NDPS sleuths in our area about the narcotics dealers, said Prabhu.

New modus operandi of drug smugglers

unearthed

PANJIM: The arrest of a Nigerian and

Kashmiri 'businessmen' in Goa by a team of
Narcotics Control Bureau at Anjuna on
Saturday has unearthed a new modus
operandi of drug smugglers. The case has
brought under the scanner businesses run
by Kashmiris as well as certain party clubs
along the coastal belt.
17 Feb, 2014, 12:00AM IST

TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: The arrest of a Nigerian and Kashmiri businessmen in Goa by a team of Narcotics Control
Bureau at Anjuna on Saturday has unearthed a new modus operandi of drug smugglers. The case has
brought under the scanner businesses run by Kashmiris as well as certain party clubs along the coastal
belt.
A garment shop owner Ashiq Shah, originally hailing from Jammu & Kashmir and carrying out his
business in Anjuna was arrested with a cocktail of drugs which was concealed in the clothes at his shop.
Hundred ecstacy tablets and 30 strips of LSD paper was seized which Shah confessed to the team was
supplied by Nigerian Franklin Emekauchulwu. The foreigner was subsequently arrested while he was
delivering a consignment to another customer worth Rs 25 lakh.
Sources said the Kashmiri has been running the drugs racket under the garb of garment store and sold
drugs such as LSD, Cocaine, MDMA/Ecstacy and Charas to tourists since last three years.

It appears that the Nigerians have again gained inroads into the Anjuna tourist belt and creating
nuisance. Moreover, it is suspected that there are many Kashmiri handicraft and cloth shops that are
selling drugs to tourists. Investigations are on, said an official.
Both have been remanded for interrogation.
The role of local night clubs has also come under scanner for allegedly assisting the tourists to buy drugs
from these shops and allowing them to openly consume inside their premises during late night parties.
A few clubs have come to our notice such as UV Bar, Hippies etc where these Nigerians and Kashmiris
and are found to be soliciting their clients and proper action will be initiated against them. This is a
mockery of the local administration because it is happening right under the nose of the local police and
the anti-narcotics cell, said sources.

Goa 'Drug Mafia' Inspires 'High-strung' Controversy

By Mayabhushan Nagvenkar | IANS - PANAJI
Published: 08th May 2014 10:27 AM
Last Updated: 08th May 2014 10:27 AM
Email1
Top cop T.N. Mohan's blanket denial of a "drug mafia" operating in Goa is snowballing into a major
controversy in the beach state that has earned a bad name as a "narco-tourism destination".
While a legislator of the ruling BJP has lamented that the statement of the director general of police
(DGP) will only "embolden drug mafias" operating in Goa, voices on the social media have also come out
strongly against Mohan's denial of a well-oiled narcotics network in the coastal state.
"How can the DGP say there is no mafia? There was a murder outside my house because of a fight
between the Nigerian mafia and local drug mafia. Do the police not remember how Nigerians in
retaliation blocked a highway by dumping a body on it and how they beat up policemen there," asked
Michael Lobo, who represents the Calangute constituency, known for its beaches as well as its
narcotics-laced nightlife.
On Friday, Mohan, the newly-appointed DGP, had underplayed the significance of narcotics control as a
top-of-the-mind policing issue.
"There are drugs in Goa... It is still my opinion that Goa is not Mexico. Goa does not have a mafia or a
lawlessness which is there is those places," Mohan said, adding that the presence of drugs in Goa was
"nominal".
His comments raised eyebrows, especially because the police-politician-drug mafia nexus has been one
of the most debated subjects, other than the Rs.35,000 crore illegal mining scam.
The assembly has seen Congress as well as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members accusing each other
of sheltering drug mafias, both domestic and foreign.
The assembly was, in fact, adjourned several times in July 2010 after a legislative committee report
probing the nexus had indicted former home minister Ravi Naik and his son Roy for their links to the
Israeli drug mafia operating in Goa. The same report had also indicted Mohan's predecessor, Kishen
Kumar, of being the "kingpin" as far as providing police protection to the drug mafia is concerned.
Nearly a dozen police officers, including more than three-fourths of Goa Police's elite anti-narcotics
cell (ANC) had been arrested for their links to Israeli drug dealers in Goa.
That several kilograms of drugs like charas and ganja had disappeared from the police godown has also

contributed to the police-drug mafia nexus theory, with a section of police officers claiming that the
seized drugs were sold back into the narcotics market by the ANC officers. That the police officially
blamed the disappearance of drugs to hungry termites is testimony to the brazen defence offered by
the ANC.
The narcotics trade in Goa is fuelled by a significant chunk of students and young working professionals
travelling to the state for weekends, live music dos and raves and a section of foreign tourists, for
whom Goa is a relatively cheap destination for liquor and drugs.
If hotel staffers do not help you get a fix, drug peddlers seek you out in coastal beach shacks as well as
popular nightlife hot spots like Baga or Calangute if you sport a "touristy" look.
"Nigerian dealers will walk right up to you and offer to sell cocaine or other drugs in some places in
Calangute," Lobo claimed.
But perhaps the most telling caution came four years back from Lobo's predecessor, former Calangute
legislator Agnelo Fernandes of the Congress, who had repeatedly criticized his government's handling of
the drug mafia.
"If you don't control the drug trade in the state now, then they will be ruling over us soon. They will
shoot the chief minister and home minister and we will not have any control over them," Fernandes
claimed in 2010. Like Lobo, Fernandes too runs hospitality ventures in the Calangute constituency.
Mohan's comments have also piqued the Congress party, which has called the DGP a "spokesperson of
the drug mafia" and wants him recalled.
"It is unfortunate that the DGP is behaving like a spokesperson of he drug mafia in Goa. We condemn
his statement. It is a slap on the face of those police officers and people who are fighting against the
drug mafia in Goa," Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said Monday.
In the print as well as social media, the DGP's comment has attracted criticism. And sarcastic voices
like those of netizen J.R. Rodrigues are common, especially on Facebook.
"They are waiting for it (for Goa to turn into Mexico) to happen," Rodrigues said on Goa Speaks, a
popular forum which discusses state-related issues on Facebook.
(Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted on mayabhushan.n@ians.in)