Cops seize Rs 2 cr ‘miaow’ haul (Herald)

October 18, 2013 TEAM HERALD PANJIM: On the day when the police-drug mafia nexus report was tabled by the House Committee in the Goa Assembly, Goa police busted one of the largest ever drug rackets worth over Rs 2 crore, at Sinquerim, the stretch which leads to the Sunburn venue. This busting of a new party drug that goes by the street name ~ miaow ~ comes on the heels of another racket busted Wednesday of the same drug. Wednesday while a peddler from Karnataka was arrested, Thursday a British national was found with more than 4 kg of the synthetic party drug. The police claim they are investigating the link but it is too much of a coincidence that two persons were caught back to back with the same drug and that there is no link established. The ANC under pressure after many of its former team members are either under investigation or suspended or facing charges of abetting drugs trafficking ~ claimed it to be one of the biggest ever drug haul in terms of the value. The haul comes just as the tourist season kicked-off in Goa and the first charters just touched down. Speaking at a press conference at police headquarters on Thursday, ANC superintendent Kartik Kashyap said the team arrested Gary Baird (45) and seized 4.14 kg of amphetamine ~ a party drug, which was in crystal powder form. “This is the biggest catch for the ANC team so far. He was waiting for his prospective customer at Sinquerim when we caught him red-handed with narcotics on Wednesday evening,” he informed. The officer said the team had been working for nearly a month on this specific tip-off. “We are probing as to who sold the narcotics to him (Baird) and the source of drugs. We know whom the accused was supposed to deliver it to but we cannot disclose his identity,” he said replying to a media question. According to initial investigation, Baird has been visiting Goa very often and during his present stay he had booked a room in a hotel at Nagoa, Calangute. This is his first crime, at least in Goa. He was sent to police remand. The police are verifying the type of visa he held during his frequent travels to India. “We are in touch with different agencies to know his antecedents as well as the enforcement directorate. We are closely investigating the case,” Kashyap said. The officer claimed that more arrests will soon follow in connection with the raid. The new entry in the drug scene of Goa ~ amphetamine is an alternative for cocaine and goes by the street name miaow. The officer said that the entire seized quantity has been sent for forensic examination to a central forensic laboratory. On Wednesday, the ANC had made another arrest of one Rajendragouda Patil in possession of the same contraband, which weighed 103 grams worth Rs 5.15 lakh. The ANC team is also investigating the possible links between the two men. http://heraldgoa.in/News/Main%20Page%20News/Cops-seize-Rs-2-cr-lsquo-miaow-rsquo-haul/80819.html