Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Aug 3: A Crime Branch investigation has uncovered a narcotics network allegedly operated from inside the Central Jail at Colvale, with a convicted NDPS case accused using mobile phones, WhatsApp and UPI transactions to coordinate drug procurement and distribution across the country.
According to investigators, the accused, lodged in the jail, connected suppliers and dealers through WhatsApp, arranged the procurement of narcotic substances from different states and shared collection points with local operatives. Payments were allegedly made through UPI as well as in cash.
Police said the network functioned without any physical contact between the jailed accused and members of the pan-India drug trade. Instructions relating to the storage and distribution of narcotic substances were allegedly communicated through WhatsApp messages and phone calls from inside the prison.
The Crime Branch recently took custody of convicted accused Azrudeen Achi alias Asaru in the same NDPS case. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed details of how the drug distribution network was being operated from within the jail.
Following the revelations, the Goa Prisons Department has initiated measures to prevent the illegal use of mobile phones inside Colvale Central Jail. Authorities are evaluating the installation of mobile jammers and the Tower-Harmonious Call Blocking System (T-HCBS) in consultation with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which have begun technical surveys.
The move comes in the wake of recent directions from the Bombay High Court, which instructed jail authorities to install robust mobile phone jammers or cellular inspection systems, set up CCTV cameras at inmate inspection counters, remove unauthorised charging points and investigate how charging facilities were allowed inside the prison.
Expressing concern over repeated security breaches, the High Court observed that it was difficult to understand how mobile phones continued to find their way into the jail despite regular inspections. The court stressed that accountability must be fixed if inspections were found to be superficial or deliberately lax.