Goa drug plant scam

cyberhippie

The thread is about being planted not partaking and what do ya reckon the train just outside Bharatpur is on the neo hippy trail??

I don't have the backpacker look or dress code so that's laid that to rest!!

Radar will help but it's got sod all to do with being a dope!!

PeakXV

Cyber, I wasn't referring to you at all.

Just a reminder for everyone to be smart and play safe. And thanks for proper interpretation of the thread but these type thread inquiries usually have their slightly paranoid(however small) reasons to be tabled and may attract drug users who are looking for a way to beat the system. There is no system - nefarious Indians can spot travellers with their guard down a mile away.

Watch your bags - watch your back - stay alert!

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

cyberhippie

Your opening line was "they only fool the biggest dopes" Is the one I'm questioning but I may have gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick, are you saying only the foolish get stung??

I don't think so!

cyberhippie

Ahhhh I think the penny may have dropped Peak (with me I mean) you think there has to be a physical planting of the drugs??

It usually doesn't work like that, it's THE THREAT of a "plant" that is the opening gambit!!

You give me money or I'll accompany you AND this bit of dope in my pocket to the local Nick!

PeakXV

They are looking for a certain demographic. Paranoid druggies are one type, but you may also be guilty by association/proximity to users or guilty by your travel budget (hotel rating/locale). Whatever keep your head up and your eyes on your belongings and you should have pas de problem!

PeakXV

By the way a "dope" in my vernacular doesn't mean a druggie. For instance at Connaught place I have been guilty of being a "Big Dope" for having that cowshit applie to my shoes ... 3 times! talk about having something "planted" on you. Each time I was wandering around with my head in the clouds ... not aware of my surroundings or who was following and scheming ......

machadinha

Never having been to Goa maybe I shouldn't comment at all.

However I'd say these stories are persistent enough to heed them to an extent. (Had to smile at Cyber saying it's not widespread then adding it's happened to him ) Rumors or not, but the stories of coppers paying handsome bribes just to be posted in Goa are likewise persistent. If true, that should tell you something.

Being made to pay a fine aka bribe whether you've done anything or not is one thing (and judging by this thread prices have surely risen!) However or so the story goes, sometimes a quota has to be met and so people find themselves in jail no matter what price they offer. Of all the foreigners in Indian jails for dope offenses, many claim they are innocent. Yeh go figure you might think, but their numbers are significantly high enough to make you wonder. Combined with the fact that it may take ages for your case to come up in court at all, it's a situation you don't want to end up in.

(I agree btw that apparently actually having something planted on you or not may be entirely immaterial in cases like these.)

One relatively simple and pleasurable solution (if probably never fool-proof) is just to stay away from a given scene and its hang-outs that you may not feel like dealing with anyway, you can meet those folks at home if you feel like. This goes for some other popular destinations too, it's not just Goa, and there are any number of people roaming about who seem sadly unaware that the sixties are well and truly over no matter how they personally feel about it, in India as in many other places.

If you do have a certain proclivity, maybe a nice way to go about it is to not obsess about it and in fact not seek it at all; you're bound to bump into people every now and then (Indians not the least of them) who offer you to share some of their belongings out of kindness, which may be the far more pleasant and unstressful experience. Fumbling around with, let alone carrying around, certain materials is never really relaxed, let alone in a place with a legal and prison system like India. There are plenty of threads on the subject, most of them not inspiring. Besides it could lead you into dire straits of a different kind, think of disappearances and the likes. Are they many? No. Does it happen? Yes.

As me ol' DJ used to say, Be good, and if you can't be good, be careful.

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Rogue Two

You're preaching to the converted here - I don't smoke anymore because I am and paranoid smoking dope in Amsterdam or Spain, let alone a country like India.

I was thinking about the divine irony of being arrested on a trumped-up drugs charge despite being a non-smoker, that's all.

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machadinha

No, yes, that's precisely what I was thinking of, it works the same for me. As said, visiting certain destinations I'd just steer clear of the thick of things and find my own relaxed hang-out I think. (Then keep your fingers crossed ) I'm no goodie-two-shoes here but I'd just try to be sensible about it. Messing up over my own idiocy let alone someone else's I prefer to do at home if I can. The scenario of getting busted because your economical roomie for the day or your cool neighbors in the bungalow next door for that matter screwed up doesn't appeal to me much -- and I've certainly had those roomies in India.

Rogue Two

Ah, Mrs. Rogue will be my 'economical roomie' so I don't have any worries on that score. And we'll be in midrange more often than budget, I think.

Spirit of Havelock

Yes I would second this - they really have no need. I remember I got stopped by a van full of cops whilst on my moped on a very dark and lonely jungle road in Goa about 2 AM - I had nothing bad on me, but I thought if ever I was going to run into any police funny business it would have been then. They just asked me where I was going, and sent me on my way - they were not interested in my i.d., license, ... nothing.

With the Indian police, be ultra polite, friendly but respectful. In India your rights are whatever they say they are. I think they will only set you up if you somehow piss them off.

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machadinha

Most relevant point I should think. I.e. the stuff at hand is probably likely to affect the backpacker crowd more.

Rogue Two

I've found that there is never any mileage in being anything other than friendly and respectful with police in any country.

Spirit of Havelock

Yes, but not quite, I think in the West you can stand your ground a little with the authorities because your rights are well-defined and corruption is limited. In India, you have to allow yourself to get dictated to more (but within reason). Goa, I think, is a different case to other states, but in other parts of India, it is actually easier being a foreigner and dealing with the police. The police are less likely to ask for bribes, because they know foreigners are more likely to get confused or complain. For example, I didn't have to pay for an F.I.R. in WB.
Also, dealing with foreigners means more paperwork, I heard of one guy who went into one rural police station to turn himself in because his visa had expired and he had no money. The police gave him a thousand Rupees and asked him to leave the area. They bribed him!

PeakXV

Regardless - it all falls under the classification of framing doesn't it? If they threaten me with a "plant" - I would just dial my lawyer in Delhi and hand the scumbag the phone! Case closed before it is opened.