Hashish on Ratnagiri Seashore

Hashish on Ratnagiri Seashore

Mangalore Today News Network

By Dr. G. Shreekumar Menon

Mangaluru, Dec 8, 2024: Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra State contains numerous beaches, creeks, sea forts, harbours, hot water springs, caves, temples, places of scenic beauty as well as it is the birthplace of some great personalities. It is renowned as the birthplace of Lokmanya Tilak as well as the land of Bharatratna Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve, Bharatratna Pandurang Vaman Kane, Swatantryaveer Savarkar and Bharatratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Ratnagiri district has become well-known, due to freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who had been captured in Ratnagiri by the British government.

The numerous beaches and creeks was also a major attraction for those involved in smuggling activities. In fact, India’s notorious smuggler Dawood Ibrahim, was born on December 26, 1955, in Ratnagiri. Hardcore smugglers from Kerala’s Kasaragod District conducted many smuggling operations from Ratnagiri.

The Ratnadurg Fort or Ratnagiri Fort or the Bhagawati Fort, was built during the Bahamani period. in 1670. Maratha King Shivaji won the fort from the hands of Adil Shah of Bijapur. Inside the fort is the famous Bhagawati Mandir, and there is a huge cave below it, ironically called the Smugglers Cave.

The beaches on the entire stretch of Ratnagiri District were utilised for gold and silver smuggling operations, but on 14th August 2023, sleuths of Dapoli Customs Division were patrolling at Karade beach found 10 suspicious packages collectively weighing about 12 kg, and a test confirmed the content was Hashish, likely from Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Later, on August 15, 35 kg of the contraband was found between Karade and Ladghar beaches, and the next day, 25 kg of Hashish was recovered from Kelshi and 13 kg from Kolthare, he said. On August 17, more than 14 kg of contraband Hashish was found at Murud, 101 kg between Burondi and Dabhol creek, while 22 kg was seized from Borya beach. Totally, the Customs recovered more than 250 kg of Hashish from seven beaches in six days.

However, what’s interesting is that the contraband wasn’t found in anybody’s possession, instead it was stuffed in gunny bags which washed up on seven beaches in Ratnagiri district. It’s suspected the Hashish consignments had either fallen or were dumped by foreign vessels for the purpose of smuggling.

Close on the heels of the seizure by Customs, Police recovered 44 packets of charas washed ashore at two beaches in Shrivardhan Taluk in Raigad district of Maharashtra. Out of the 44 packets, 11 were spotted at Shrivardhan Kondivali beach by local people while 33 packets were found washed up at Diva Agar beach at Dighi Sagari, following which Police were alerted. These packets were labelled as ’Afghan Product’.

It is suspected that these Hashish consignments originated from the Gwadar Port and it is a well-known fact that the Chinese and Pakistanis control the port. The Gwadar Port is situated on the Arabian Sea at Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan. The province of Balochistan is riven by multiple cyclical conflicts and is the most fragile in Pakistan. Gwadar Port which was operationalised a few years back has become a safe haven for drug traffickers of the Golden Crescent, which is the landlocked poppy fields of Afghanistan. The port was built by the Chinese and is controlled as well as operated by Beijing for both merchant and military seafaring. In July 2020, a high alert was sounded following inputs from the international agencies about a rise in smuggling activities originating from the Gwadar Port.

At the centre of it all is the 40-year-old Haji Salim, the Karachi-based underworld kingpin who sits at the apex of a vast network that sends drugs into India. Central intelligence agencies suspect that Salim is responsible for smuggling 70% of the drugs that come to the country. Apart from Pakistan, Salim has methamphetamine laboratories in Balochistan and areas around the Pakistan-Iran border. The net worth of the drugs he smuggles runs into thousands of crores, and the drug money is used in terror activities. The complicity of politicians, government officials, and security personnel in Salim’s criminal activity has created a nexus among criminals, militants, and terrorism. Six of the nine major drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan transit through Balochistan en route to Iran, Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Haji Salim, also known as ’Lord of Drugs’, got noticed when his consignment worth crores was caught in the sea near Kerala. One of the biggest traffickers in the world, Salim supplies large shipments of heroin, methamphetamine, and other illegal narcotics to Asia, Africa, and the West. The scale of his trafficking syndicate is unparalleled. The investigation agencies have little information on him and the details available so far are limited to an old photograph and some personal details. Haji Salim’s empire continues to thrive, which has earned him the nickname "Raktbeej" in the global drug trade. His modus operandi is to smuggle the narcotics through sea and his shipments bear markings such as 777, 555, 999, flying horses, and scorpions as identification marks. His consignment often originates in Iran and passes through Afghanistan and Malaysia, before reaching Sri Lanka. These are then moved to smaller vessels and moved to the Indian coastline mostly at night, landing at obscure ports and beach locations.

Beach narcotics trade is another challenge for all enforcement agencies.

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Dr. G. Shreekumar Menon, IRS (Rtd), Ph.D. (Narcotics)

Former Director General of National Academy of Customs Indirect Taxes and Narcotics & Multi-Disciplinary School Of Economic Intelligence India; Fellow, James Martin Centre For Non Proliferation Studies, USA; Fellow, Centre for International Trade & Security, University of Georgia, USA; Public Administration, Maxwell School of Public Administration, Syracuse University, U.S.A.; AOTS Scholar, Japan. He can be contacted at shreemenon48@gmail.com