SPECTRUM GAMING: LIFELINE FOR FUTURE

THE headline grabbing news that an Israeli history sheeter was arrested by Goa police, on drug dealing charges is a wake-up call. Kudos to the sleuths behind the mission, at least one threat to law-abiding Goans is temporarily off the streets.
Although seemingly unrelated, this dovetails with arrests made just last week, of three young men on human trafficking charges. One of them was a Kazakh national of Chinese origin with a host of ID cards from countries such as the UAE. The Kazakh–Chinese national was in India looking for an 8 to 10-storey building to rent for setting up as call center, from where he planned to set up a base for scamming operations. Here’s where the plot thickens.
The US State Department had alerted the world that far too many casino complexes in ASEAN countries are fronts for billion dollar transnational human trafficking syndicates. Singapore successfully took out one such ring recently, that was routing proceeds of crime from Filipino online gambling websites into Singaporean bank accounts and then laundering it through high-end real estate. Singapore’s no nonsense police force recovered $2.2 billion from the gang.
Goa’s northern coastal belt has been a den for illegal raves and illicit psychotropic drugs since Liberation in 1961. Once a draw for Western tourists, the belt has become a cesspool for cheapskate local tourists, who believe they are entitled to drink alcohol in public. They litter indiscriminately and are approached by touts selling sex and drugs. The beaches are avoided by most Goans, and an ex- politician — who was notorious for organising raves on government property — lamented the falling international tourist numbers.
Similarly, excessive mining has ravaged way too many Goan villages, resulting in desertification. Loads of people made a killing in mining’s heyday, including politicians. After dogged efforts by the tenacious Goa Foundation, the court ordered the creation of the District Mineral Foundation.
Panjim has been an unwilling nursery for six “offshore” casinos for over two decades. The portion of the river where the six ships permanently squat stink unbearably, and both Panjim and Goa seem unaware of the impending fallout of unregulated legalized gambling. Recent exposés by OCCRP detail how the Northern Cyprus money laundering model works — where college students are lured to party towns, “liquor-ed” up and are recruited by syndicates, who use them to set up dummy bank accounts.
The recruiter earns bonuses for the number of accounts created, which are then used by criminal entities to launder proceeds of crime, in small sums bypassing Suspicious Transaction Reports, via casinos and real estate.
The older but still classic Vancouver model is definitely embedded in Goa too. In this method — pioneered by the Chinese Triads — drug dealers launder hard cash through casinos, use the “clean” money to invest in real estate and funnel profits into manufacturing of deadly drugs like fentanyl (which was responsible for the overdose death of a young tourist at Goa’s last controversial EDM extravaganza)

Reports from Canadian press reveal Chinese organized crime figures tried to sway provincial elections, in order to put in a pro gambling candidate, a Chinese-origin Canadian. The Philippines were rocked by a sensational scandal last year, where the young female mayor of a town was found to be a Chinese asset, or in other words, a spy. She too was alleged to co-own a casino complex, which was involved in human trafficking operations.
Goa has sacrificed much for rampant unsustainable mining and infinitely more by laying out the red carpet for psychotropic drugs. Times have changed and feudal lords should not have the last say anymore. India is a signatory to the FATF and is bound to live up to its recommended course corrections based on lessons learnt from the costly mistakes of other members.
As a narco-tourism destination, a Golden Triangle of sorts, where corruption is a beloved cultural eccentricity, Goa’s future generations would be better off if the government hired the consultant that helped Singapore become the world’s third largest gambling hub. With their help, Goa can capitalise on legalized gambling without sacrificing self respect, rule of law or becoming a target for blood- thirsty transnational organized crime syndicates. Their expertise would free up time for local law enforcement, who are doing their best to protect civilians and India’s monumental political aristocracy too.
—Cajetan Peter D’Souza, Mumbai