Vast stretches of sugarcane cultivated on miles of land give one a spectacular glimpse of the field located in the bordering villages of Karnataka. But there’s a hidden agenda that many might be oblivious about. Large fraction of these agricultural-dominated villages tucked away in the interiors, have steadily turned into a den for cannabis/marijuana plants.
Organised gangs, largely consisting of criminals with heinous offences pending against them, have earmarked certain portions of the fields to grow the green leaves known as ganja, away from the eyes of the law. They are lucky to escape police raids though some did face the heat in the recent past.
Sources in the know of the large-scale illegality told Herald that most of these villages sharing borders with Goa have made it an ideal choice for drug smugglers to hide and transport the consignments from there. These enter Goa unchecked despite its huge quantum.
If not all, several sugarcane fields in Uttara Kannada and Gadag districts, Khanapur and Huliyar are purportedly prone to this menace. The ganja plantation has increased manifold for a sole reason: unending demand from Goa.
“Goa is a small State where such huge plantations are not possible. The cannabis plants might be grown in Goa but small patches. As a result, the gangs have shifted their base to the interiors of the Karnataka-Goa border. In acres and acres of land cultivating sugarcane, there are several sq mtrs amid these plantations that drug mafia has captured to grow the ‘greens,” said one of the villagers on the condition of anonymity.
The trend has thus switched the monopoly of drug trade and consumption from Goa’s northern coastal belt to the South district. With lenient checking at the border posts of Mollem and Pollem, motorists manage to sneak in with the consignment. The vehicles are Goa registered hence the riders / drivers are left unchecked.
“There is no mechanism to check the vehicles entering Goa. Relaxed checking by the staff at the border check posts has encouraged drug peddlers to comfortably sneak in with drugs. About 10-15 kg or 25-50 kg of weeds easily gets into the State,” said one of them.
The route is planned. About 2-3 kaccha roads through the forest are exploited for the purpose. There’s just one check point. A villager said that locals from either side travel for their daily chores while some from the southern state are employed in Goa. Therefore, they use the road to travel to and fro daily. Peddlers have taken advantage of this situation to enter Sanguem taluka with ease.
“A check post in Sanguem is used by villagers from neighbouring villages of Gavla Devi to come to Uguem since many are employed here. It’s a daily routine for most of them and being a jungle muddy road, patrolling staff from concerned departments are usually not around. Karnataka’s remote villages sharing its borders with Goa have made this tourist State prone to the trafficking of narcotics from a newer destination. We suspect Ganja is transported from this route,” the villager said.
With this route having now turned into a link between Karnataka villages and Goa’s Sanguem taluka, villagers maintain that even a four-wheeler can effortlessly pass through this muddy road except during the monsoon when chances of skidding are high. “The road is however accessible for two-wheelers during monsoon as well. Therefore, the business does not stop be it any weather or season,” the villager said.
“Peddlers in South Goa have increased and so also competition among them. From Salcete to Quepem and Sanguem to Canacona and other places, drugs have made their way into Goa’s interiors which were once clean of this mess. It is believed that Quepem is the hub for the entire South Goa from where it is distributed to other places,” sources said.
The impact of cannabis production on the other side of Goa, yet closer to this touristic State, has led to addiction among the younger generation. These small instances indicate that not just coastal belts and educational institutions, but villages are also trapped in the drug trade.
“It is a business worth lakhs of rupees. Unemployed youth are falling prey to this illicit trade because they earn huge profits. South Goa has become a hot destination for the drug trade. We can conveniently say that the drug menace is slowly shifting from North Goa’s coastal belt to South Goa,” said the source.
It has come to the fore that roll papers and 10 grams of ganja are being sold at Rs 500. “Bagalwadi and Guddekal too are new destinations for growing drugs to cater to the demands from South Goa,” another added.
Not just the jungle route, railways, and roadways (Anmod Ghat) are also being extensively used to transport drugs. “The business was shut during the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed full-fledged once the restrictions were lifted by the government. High-quality ganja is reportedly sold at Rs 800 per 6 gms. Rate varies. Location of cultivation and quality of drugs besides other factors lets these organized gangs decide the price,” the source said.