NT NETWORK
PANAJI
The food and drugs administration on Saturday destroyed five boxes of fish which were allegedly smuggled into Goa in an interstate bus.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told a press conference in Panaji that the fish was smuggled into Goa through the bus that operates on Goa-Mumbai route.
The bus was seized by the Old Goa police when the fish was being unloaded near the Merces Circle in Panaji.
Giving details about how the fish was smuggled into Goa, Rane said, “I have got a report from the police that says the fish was unloaded from a bus bearing registration number GA-03-N-5670 on Saturday morning at 8.15 am. According to the preliminary investigation, the fish had been loaded onto the bus in Mumbai by one Pratap More. The fish was supposed to be unloaded at Mapusa. However, mistakenly the boxes were brought to Panaji.”
The claimant of the fish-laden boxes has not yet been traced, Rane said adding that More has been asked to appear before the FDA as soon as possible.
Bus owner Mandar Parcekar, a resident of Chicalim-Colvale in Bardez, is also being examined in this connection.
Rane said the Old Goa police seized the boxes and handed them over to the FDA, which later destroyed the seized fish at the Saligao garbage treatment plant.
Rane said, “I will speak to Director General of Police Dr Muktesh Chander to explore legal actions for prosecuting the individuals who are attempting to bring fish in the state illegally.”
It is pertinent to note here that the government in a circular issued recently had directed the Goa police and the transport department to check for the vehicles carrying fish at the check-posts/entry points such as Pollem, Patradevi, Mollem, Naibag, Kiranpani, Querim and also any other entry points/check-posts as deemed necessary.
A senior police official said the checking is applicable to trucks carrying fish. However, it is not possible to screen every interstate bus entering Goa; also it is impossible to check the luggage of all passengers for possible fish smuggling.
People also may bring in fish in small quantities through buses and private vehicles for self-consumption, observed another senior police official.