23 arrested in Goa rave party held amid pandemic

Panaji, Aug 16 Amid a sustained spike in Covid-19 cases, the Crime Branch of the Goa Police on Sunday busted a rave party in the beach village of Vagator in North Goa.

Twenty three persons, including three foreigners, were arrested, and drugs worth Rs nine lakh seized, the Goa Police said in a statement issued here.

The rave party was being held at a posh row village complex called 'Firangipani Villas' at Vagator beach village.

"Upon thorough search, narcotics drugs including cocaine, MDMA, ecstasy tablets and charas were detected in sizable quantities and worth over Rs nine lakh. Three of the accused are foreign women," a Goa Police statement said.

"FIRs are registered for endangering public safety and for narcotics drugs. Further proceedings are ongoing," the statement also said.

The raid follows days after a warning by Goa Director General of Police Mukesh Meena, who had said that he was aware of rave parties taking place in Goa amid the pandemic and had warned strict action against such events.

( With inputs from IANS )