The arrest of almost 300 young boys and girls at a Pune rave party has brought into sharp focus the double standards used by the law.
Many say the young people at Pune were soft targets. The real menace is a growing web of drug dealers who come from across our borders but have now set up a network across the country.
An investigation traces the network from Pune to Goa and to Mumbai.
Rave music and culture began in Goa and the drug mafia began following it.
Drugs are freely bought, sold, injected and snorted with trance and rave as the soundtrack.
But to gain an entry you need to be a pro and spot the nondescript announcements.
Up market nightspots in Saligaon, Anjuna, Arpora, Morjim and butterfly island in Palolem – all part of the rave circuit, which is now spreading to other cities in India.
Goa connection
The Goa connection has being driven by a successive wave of drug peddlers.
Starting in the 1980s Nigerians and Kenyan tourists found the beaches a save haven for drug trade.
In the early 90s Israeli backpackers and soldiers successfully entered the cartel and started the trend of rave parties in close-door venues to find quick sellers.
In 2002 Russian druglords made their entry and operate in the north of Goa and the Israelis operate in the south.
The drugs have begun making their way back and forth between Goa and cities like Mumbai and Pune.
Last week Narcotics Control Bureau arrested two drug runners with heroin worth Rs 15 crore. The runners had picked up the consignment from Pune and were going to deliver it to the infamous Goan drug dealer Charles.
Police sources say the heroin was meant to be sold at a nightclub.
Drug arrests are few and far between in Goa because sources say the cartels have strong connections in the police and panchayats.
But police files have been able to form a broad picture about their operations.
The drug route
Goan cartels source drugs in bulk from the northern states and distribute at shacks and rave parties through peddlers, pimps, outstation students and socialites.
Goan cartels also frequently ferry drugs out out to Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore for similar parties.
“The rave culture in India started in Goa. And it spilled over to Pune,” DIG of Goa Ujwal Mishra said.
As Goa style raves become the craze in other cities it’s only inevitable that Goa’s drug cartels will try and cash in.
Credits: Frankey Fernandes, NDTV
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