Goa's warm climate not suitable for ganja plantation: Anti-Narcotics official

Authorities have raided 11 ganja plantations in the state, especially in the tourism-friendly coastal belt

Goa's warm climate is not suitable for growing ganja plants on a commercial scale, a senior Goa Police official said on Saturday, adding that along with cocaine and MDMA, ganja was one of the top seized drugs in the state.

"I would say it was an attempt to grow some plants of ganja in their galleries creating some sort of a greenhouse and some three four pots we found on some terraces and galleries like that. But there is no such growth or plantation on a mass scale because the climate in Goa is definitely conducive for growing such ganja plants. They require a very cold climate," Goa Anti-Narcotics Cell chief Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar told reporters on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which is observed on June 26.

Over the last three years, various agencies of the state police department, including the Anti-Narcotics Cell, have raided 11 ganja plantations in the state, especially in the tourism-friendly coastal belt.

"The drug which is commonly found in Goa is cocaine, MDMA we have found, we have been catching ganja or marijuana and charas," Gaonkar further said.

The police official also said that several African nationals were booked by the agency for possession of drugs in commercial quantity.

"We found some groups, especially people from African countries who stay here and their main purpose is drug peddling. We worked out strategies our people went into deep investigation and we could book some of these people," Gaonkar said.