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http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jun212006/national1736492006620.asp
Deccan Herald » National » Detailed Story
'vivek moitra had pusher contacts in goa'
Celeb circuit ticks on substance abuse
From Devika Sequeira, DH News Service, Panaji:
The police, however, deny there is cocaine going around at Goa
parties. "I have been to some celebrity parties in Goa and I can vouch
for it that cocaine is not served. This happens more in the metros,"
says deputy inspector general (DIG) of police Ujjwal Mishra.
At India's most happening party destination, a cocktail of cocaine,
psychedelic drugs and alcohol is what keeps the celeb circuit ticking
these days.
"If you're not in with it, you're out," says lifestyle journalist
Ethel Da Costa who has seen Bollywood brats snort coke and willowy
catwalk damsels "stoned out of their heads" at dozens of celebrity
parties like those thrown during the new year by a tycoon-cum-MP.
Also notorious for her coke-fuelled parties and addiction is a Delhi
socialite and designer who tried to set up base in the North Goa
tourist coast with a restaurant-cum-nightclub that eventually tanked.
Rahul Mahajan's cocaine-and-champagne blast has brought out into the
open what has been common knowledge about the lives of the rich and
well-connected. "They are part of a clique with money to blow, and it
has become fashionable in their circles to raise the bar to see just
how high they can go," says Da Costa. Thrown in with the cocktail of
whisky/vodka and ecstasy (MDMA) these days, is also the energy drink
Red Bull, she says..
Police beg to differ
The police, however, deny there is cocaine going around at Goa
parties. "I have been to some celebrity parties in Goa and I can vouch
for it that cocaine is not served. This happens more in the metros,"
says deputy inspector general (DIG) of police Ujjwal Mishra.
But a Customs narcotics cell official has proof to the contrary. He
gives this newspaper the name of a local drug pusher who Vivek Moitra
was often in touch with. Moitra, he says, was instrumental in helping
the pusher revive rave parties in Goa during the BJP rule.
"We all know that the elite of India come here only to party. And
we're fooling ourselves if we think they have no access to cocaine or
any other drug," says Dr Jawaharlal Henriques who treats substance
addicts at his private nursing home in Anjuna. He lists cocaine,
heroin and ketamine as the most popular party drugs around.
Drug lawyer Peter Jos D'Souza who favours a more "humane" Narcotics
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act believes there is often a
deliberate suppression by the police of cocaine seizures because of
the high value of the drug.
"This is definitely a celebrity drug, accessible only to those with
plenty of money," he says. A gram of cocaine costs between Rs 3,000
and Rs 5,000 in Goa, depending on its purity, say officials.
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