Four Russians arrested in Goa for growing, selling drugs

Panaji, Feb 23 (IANS) Four Russians were arrested in North Goa for cultivating marijuana and selling other psychotropic drugs, police said on Saturday.The police on Friday night arrested 30-year-old Ilia Stennikov for illegally cultivating marijuana worth Rs 65,000 in a rented apartment in Mandrem beach village, located 30 km from Panaji, North Goa Superintendent of Police Chandan Choudhury told the media here. The three others - Igor Markov, Radik Vafin and Evgeny Zakharin - were arrested later."We registered an FIR against Stennikov under relevant sections of the NDPS Act. But his interrogation led us to the three other Russians living in a house in Arambol (an adjoining village), who were selling drugs and one of whom was involved in ATM thefts in the North Goa district," Choudhury added.Drugs worth Rs 6 lakh were recovered from the house in Arambol.During interrogation, Markov confessed to his involvement in the ATM thefts, including a recent incident when a Bank of India ATM was robbed and Rs 9 lakh stolen.More than half a dozen cases have been booked by the North Goa police involving foreign nationals cultivating drugs in rented premises over the last one year.
--IANS maya/ksk/ab