Panaji: A crime branch investigation has uncovered a narcotics network allegedly operated from inside the Central Jail at Colvale, with a convicted NDPS accused using cellphones, WhatsApp and UPI transactions to coordinate drug procurement and distribution across the country.Police said the accused, lodged in the jail, connected suppliers and dealers through WhatsApp, arranged procurement of narcotic substances from different states, and shared collection locations with local operatives. Payments were made through UPI as well as in cash.The investigation revealed that the network functioned without any physical contact between the jailed accused and members of the pan-India drug trade. Instructions for storing and distributing narcotic substances were allegedly passed through WhatsApp messages and phone calls from inside the prison.The crime branch recently took custody of convicted accused Azrudeen Achi alias Asaru in the same NDPS case. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed how the drug distribution network was being operated from within the jail.Following the revelations, the prisons department is exploring technologies to prevent the illegal use of cellphones inside Colvale jail. It is evaluating mobile jammers and the Tower-Harmonious Call Blocking System (T-HCBS) in consultation with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which have begun technical surveys.The move follows recent directions from the Bombay high court, which ordered the jail authorities to install robust phone jammers or cellular inspection systems, CCTV cameras at inmate inspection counters, remove unauthorised charging points, and investigate how charging facilities came to exist inside the prison.Questioning repeated breaches, the court observed that it was difficult to understand how cellphones continued to enter the jail despite regular inspections, and stressed that accountability must be fixed if inspections were superficial or deliberately lax.
