Panaji: Goa’s Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) on Sunday busted an inter-state drug smuggling racket with the arrest of a man from Kudal in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
The accused, whose name has been withheld by the ANC to ensure the entire racket is busted, was arrested with drugs worth ₹25 lakh at Patradevi, a village on the border of Maharashtra and Goa.
The ANC recovered from his possession a staggering 208 grams of Ecstasy powder and 43 highly potent Ecstasy pills, costing approximately ₹25 lakh in the international market, a senior police official said.
As per ANC officials, the accused is suspected to be a key part of an inter-state synthetic drug racket, mainly supplying party drugs to Goa and Mumbai.
The ANC also suspects that the accused had come to Goa at the onset of the long weekend to supply and distribute the drugs within the party circuit. The ANC acted on a tip-off regarding the supply of Ecstasy pills within Goa’s party scene, he added.
The official stated that upon further investigation, the ANC established a crucial Mumbai-Goa inter-state connection, where Ecstasy tablets, commonly known as “pills,” were being transported between Mumbai and Goa.
“After thorough surveillance and intelligence gathering, the ANC zeroed in on the accused, who is the main supplier of Ecstasy pills into Goa in bulk quantity. These drugs are then pushed to customers and partygoers by small-time peddlers,” he said.
The ANC has also seized the two-wheeler used by the accused to transport the drugs from Kudal to Goa.
The raid was led by Police Inspector (ANC) Sajith Pillai, assisted by ASI Manoj Shirodkar. The operation was monitored by Deputy Superintendent of Police (ANC) Nerlon Albuquerque and closely supervised by SP (ANC) Tikam Singh Verma.
