Local Goa News

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Cops suspect fake visa racket

DIG says 583 foreigners involved in crimes in Goa in last five years; 333 foreigners have gone underground of which 208 are Nigerians

PANJIM: Goa Police suspect a fake visa racket operating in the state that foreigners are taking benefit of to stay illegally and get involved in various crimes.

Speaking to the media at the Police Headquarters, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Goa Police Vimal Anand Gupta said, “The way the stamping has been done on the passports appears it is a genuine visa. I feel there is a professional racket operating here.” The DIG said the police are concerned about the violations by foreigners, especially by Nigerian nationals. He said there are a couple of cases booked by the Police against Nigerian nationals for overstaying in which investigations revealed that the documents or the visa is fake.
“We have not only crosschecked with Mumbai immigration point but also with the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, Indian Embassy in Nigeria and Nigerian Embassy in India. We have carried out a long exercise to establish and verify the authenticity of the documents which were found suspect,” Gupta said.
Gupta said that in the last five years there have been 583 foreign nationals involved in various crimes in Goa, of which 333 foreigners have gone underground. He said that out of 333 underground foreign nationals 208 are Nigerians.
“We don’t know their whereabouts. This is just a reflection of a larger problem which we are facing,” he said. He added that the weak point of the situation is lack of a detention centre in Goa.

Herald Goa News

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