More crimes by foreigners than against them: NCRB

The relationship between criminal activities and foreigners seems to have reversed over the past few years. Recently-released data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals that contrary to the perception that foreigners are often victims of crime in Goa, statistics show that more crimes are committed by foreigners than against them.

Violence against foreigners recently garnered international attention following the rape and murder of 28-year-old Irish national Danielle McLaughlin in Canacona, which ‘hurt’ Goa’s image as a tourist-friendly destination. As per NCRB data for 2016, while there were 22 crimes against foreigners, crimes committed by foreigners rose to 80, as against 69 the previous year. This includes 6.5% of all crimes committed by foreigners in India.

Of the 80 cases, one is a murder, three are rape, and 21 are cheating. There are also two cases of forgery, 20 under the Foreigner’s Act, and 14 instances of crimes under the NDPS Act.


Speaking to TOI, crime branch superintendent of police (SP) Karthik Kashyap said most cases against foreigners are regarding drugs and overstaying. Also, most of those involved in these cases are Nigerians.

Since the number of foreigners involved in criminal activity is on the rise, the state government has decided to speed up the process of setting up a detention centre in Mapusa.

Goa police say that many Africans, especially those from Nigeria, are involved in the drug trade and don’t have any documents to prove their nationality. In the absence of a detention centre, foreigners move around freely in the state after securing bail, cops say.

So dire is the situation, sources say, that some foreigners even choose to intentionally get nabbed for narcotics-related crimes just to extend their stay in Goa.