List readied on instructions of DGP
Amresh Parab
Panaji: As a part of a strategic crackdown on drug menace in the state, Goa police is monitoring the activities of 54 drug peddlers.
A senior police officer said the department has already listed drug peddlers/dealers and their actions are being watched round the clock.
Stating that the ‘crackdown plan’ has been chalked out by Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Kumar, sources said the list of major drug peddlers in the state including local, Indian and foreign nationals has been finalised on the instructions of the DGP.
The details have been shared with various police personnel, who have been given specific tasks as a part of the crackdown.
Sources in the police said the plan is in motion and the only idea behind it is to eradicate narcotics from the state. They said their efforts have yielded results with the police making several drug seizures and arrests.
A few months ago, the DGP had given instructions to senior police officials to ‘crack down on drug menace’. Peddlers who were earlier arrested by police in various drug-related cases, especially those involving large volumes of drug seizures or high value drugs such as chemical drugs, were on police’s priority list, the sources said. They further said that instructions were issued to officials to monitor drug peddler
activities 24×7.
In 2024, Goa police seized drugs valued at over Rs 9.81 crore, which was around 80% more than the drugs seized in the previous year. The total number of cases booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in the last year was 159 with 188 arrests made.
In 2023, a total of 140 cases were booked under the NDPS Act and 166 individuals were arrested with police seizing different types of drugs valued at over Rs 5.47 crore.
In the last assembly session, some legislators had raised issues pertaining to presence of drugs in ‘schools’ to which Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that directions were issued to police inspector of Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) to meet the MLAs and obtain details so as to initiate action. “There is zero tolerance to drugs and strict action will be taken,” Sawant had said.
