NT Reporter
Panaji
Anti Narcotic Cell (ANC) of Goa police has busted an indoor cannabis cultivation set-up at a residential complex in Alto Porvorim.
Police have arrested two youths (not from Goa) and seized five illegally cultivated cannabis plants during a raid conducted late Tuesday night. Police also seized 16 grams of suspected ganja, 22 grams of suspected hydroponic weed and three suspected cannabis seeds, all worth over Rs 1.28 lakh.
Both the accused had rented a flat and are unemployed, said sources in the police department. They said the raid was conducted based on credible intelligence and after obtaining a house search warrant.
Police have registered a First Information
Report (FIR) under Sections 20(a), 20(b)(ii)(A) read with Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
Preliminary investigation indicates deliberate cultivation, said officials adding that the identity of the accused is withheld in view of the ongoing efforts to establish forward linkages. Police sub-inspector Vikesh Hadfadkar is conducting the probe under the guidance of police inspector Sagun Sawant under the supervision of Superintendents of Police Nerlon Albuquerque and Sunita Sawant.
It may be noted that in April 2024, the Goa unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had busted in-house cannabis cultivation at Socorro and arrested a British national Jason I. Thirty three newly grown cannabis plants, 10 grams of ganja and proceeds of crime worth Rs 40,000 were recovered from the house during the search, NCB had said.
Incidentally, the accused was previously arrested by NCB in November 2022 in a drugs case and was out on bail.
Multiple incidents related to sighting of ganja saplings, mostly in public places, were reported in Panaji in 2024-25. In the last few years, Goa police have arrested a number of accused in connection with illegal cultivation of ganja plants.
The state had seen a phenomenal rise in illegal cultivation of cannabis plants in 2020. It was evident from the large seizures made by police. The total seizure of plants (quantity) was over 44 kg and police had attributed these seizures to the local intelligence gathered by its personnel.
