CAMPCO wants govt to check illegal arecanut import
Mangaluru, Jan 24: The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) has expressed concern over the 'illegal import' of arecanut through various channels to the state, which is posing a threat to the domestic market, resulting in financial loss to the government.
In a statement here, CAMPCO president Krishore Kumar Kodgi said arecanut is surreptitiously finding its way into the country, notably through the integrated cargo terminal of Mangaluru International Airport.
The airport, in a media release, had stated that it facilitated the inbound handling of arecanut weighing 1,519 kg in 60 bags as belly air cargo from Agartala in Tripura to Mangaluru through its integrated cargo terminal (ICT) in January.
Kodgi said the unlawful practice adversely affects the local farmers and cooperative organisations in stabilising arecanut prices in the domestic market. It also denies the livelihood of people dependent on arecanut cultivation, he said.
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He wanted the government to take urgent steps to check the illegal import of arecanut. The authorities should urgently examine the origin, pricing and accompanying documentation of the imported arecanut, and help check tax evasion to safeguard the interest of arecanut growers, Kodgi said.
The CAMPCO has written letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddramaiah in this regard, he added.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
