JERUSALEM — Undercover policemen may go to India to gather information on a massive illegal drug party involving thousands of Israeli youths now under way on the coast of southwest India.

The party, which has become a tradition in recent years, has been described as "the biggest drug party in the world," and attracts youth from all over the world.

Police sources said Israelis there who are involved in drug sales may be arrested on their return to Israel to face charges in India.

"We see the war on drugs as our most important job in fighting crime," Police Inspector-General Assaf Hefetz said.

The police narcotics and intelligence divisions recently completed a report outlining Israeli involvement in drug use and sales in India.

The sources said the party was not a surprise. It is being held on several beaches in the Goa region. One beach is nicknamed "Tel Aviv Beach."

Ron Shorer, director-general of the War on Drugs Authority, estimated that "thousands of Israeli youths" were participating.

"It makes us feel like we've failed," Shorer said.

"We have to think about what we are doing here in the area of education that would allow something like this to happen."

Israeli young people have converged on the Goa beaches from all over the Far East, where they have ventured on their post-army trips.

The organizers, allegedly including Israelis, set up large music sound systems and brought in food and craft vendors, as well as drug dealers, to cater to the crowds on the scenic beaches.

Shorer said that everything from hashish to LSD is being sold, sometimes in especially dangerous "cocktail mixtures."