Goa Police irresolute in drug mafia case: Swedish model
May 29th, 2010 - 6:59 pm ICT by IANSPanaji, May 29 (IANS) A Swedish model, who is the main witness in the probe into the alleged police-politician-drug mafia nexus here, says the Goa Police are not keen to collect from her video footage linking a state politician to a narcotics cartel.
Lucky Farmhouse, 33, whose spycam videos have exposed a police-drug mafia nexus resulting in the arrest of seven policemen and an Israeli drug dealer, says in an e-mail interview that the Goa Crime Branch officials were simply not interested in contacting her when she was in Mumbai earlier this month.
Farmhouse returned to Sweden earlier this week.
“I am back in Sweden now. Police have not given me any date to be in Goa. They only contacted me once and asked for my Mumbai address. I told them about my travel plans,” said Farmhouse, who is the former girlfriend of Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benaim alias Atala, who has been arrested.
The model, who worked as an extra in several Bollywood films during her Mumbai stay earlier this month, said that she was willing to change her travel plans and return to India if police wanted to question her and pick up more clinching video footage of senior police officers and a senior politician.
Deputy Inspector General of Police R.S. Yadav could not be contacted for comment. Yadav however has maintained that Farmhouse had not contacted the police despite requests to do so.
Allowing Farmhouse to go back to Sweden without making any efforts to meet her bolsters allegations made by Goa’s opposition parties and some policemen that the Crime Branch was sabotaging the investigation into the case.
The alleged sabotage is aimed at saving high-ranking policemen and ruling party politicians involved in the drug trade, they claim.
On Wednesday, the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court had directed the state government to state whether it was considering handing over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The government Friday told the court said that a CBI probe was not needed at the moment.
The state government’s decision against handing over the probe to the CBI, comes despite recommendations from the police and state home ministry officials for doing so.
The ministry favoured a CBI probe because local politicians and policemen are suspected to be involved in the case.
- Court asks Goa if drug probe being given to CBI - May 26, 2010
- Goa's drug mafia nexus: Swedish model's statement recorded - Mar 23, 2012
- Key witness in Goa drug nexus contacted after two months - May 12, 2010
- Goa police making no efforts to contact me: Swedish model - May 10, 2010
- Probe into police-politician-drug nexus being sabotaged: BJP (Lead) - Apr 28, 2010
- Crime branch not to probe death threat to Swedish model - May 17, 2010
- Goa police backtracks on politicians' links to drug trade - May 14, 2010
- Politician's son visited Israeli drug dealer: Swedish model - May 21, 2010
- 'Sweden visit in Goa drug probe being delayed' - Jul 13, 2010
- Court hints at political patronage in police-drug nexus - Jun 04, 2010
- Goa drug mafia linked to terror outfits: NCP - Aug 21, 2010
- Swedish model alleges threat from drug dealer, Goa cop - May 16, 2010
- Israeli drug dealer gets conditional bail - Jun 22, 2010
- Goa undecided on CBI probe into cop-drug mafia nexus - May 27, 2010
- CBI points to links between Goa Police, drug mafia - Oct 01, 2011
Tags: atala, benaim, bollywood films, bombay high court, branch officials, central bureau of investigation, crime branch, deputy inspector general, e mail, former girlfriend, goa police, mail interview, opposition parties, police drug, return to india, ruling party, state politician, swedish model, video footage, yaniv