Shiv Sena asks Goa government to declare drug trade kingpin's name
Panaji, July 3: The Shiv Sena in Goa on Tuesday urged Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar to come clean on his statement made on Monday, in which he had said that drug trade in Goa is being run by a "godfather" from behind the scenes.
"The statement by Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar about the existence of a godfather for drug trade has shattered the entire Goa, who now want the Minister to reveal the name of the person," state Shiv Sena vice president Rakhi Prabhudessai told reporters in Panaji.
"The Minister should reveal the name... If Azgaonkar feels that naming him in public is not right, then he should at least provide the information to Chief Minister or police department," Prabhudessai said.
The Minister had on Monday said: "There should be strong action against drug trade. If that doesn't happen, the government will fail... There should be no politics on this. Drugs are a serious matter. The Goa CM is very strong on this."
Same day, the Congress party, in a letter to the Director General of Police had urged him to crack down on the drug trade in the state, which the letter said had reached unprecedented proportions.
Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country, but over the years the state has also become popular as a destination for narco-tourism. Goa attracts more than six million tourists every year, half a million of which are foreign nationals.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
