Israeli drug dealer arrested in Goa

PANAJI - An Israeli drug dealer surrendered to the Goa police Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Atala, alias Yaniv Banaim, a drug dealer operating in north Goa, was captured on spy camera speaking about his links to the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the state police which had triggered the suspension of five policemen, including a senior police inspector, last week.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ravinder Singh Yadav said he was detained and would be handed over to the crime branch.

He is being detained presently and will be later handed over to the crime branch, Yadav told IANS.

A police officer said Atala, who entered India illegally after being deported from India some time back, surrendered to the police in the coastal region of Pernem.

His arrest will help us crackdown on the police officers who are in collusion with the narcotics mafia in Goa, a police officer said.

Atala was earlier arrested in a Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case in 2006 and was subsequently deported.

In the spy camera video which was uploaded on www.youtube.com, Atala tells an unidentified person that several police officers in the Goa police were on his ‘take’.

Atala also said he would source drugs from the ANC officers who would steal it for him from a magistrate’s custody.

The Goa police has been rocked by charges of collusion of its officials with the narcotics mafia in Goa. While five policemen have been already suspended for their links to Atala, a Goa-based serving superintendent of police’s brother is being probed for his links to the illegal drug trade.