A day after the Nigerian high commission expressed disappointment over 'racial profiling ' by the Goa government, the state police has provided a television news channel with jaw-dropping facts about the community.
According to the data submitted by the Goa Police, 72 percent of the people arrested between 2010 and 2012 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985, were Nigerians. Out of the 266 foreigners arrested in narcotics cases since 2009, a total of 116 were Nigerians.
The proportion of Nigerians accused and detained in narcotics cases was 30 percent of the total number in 2010, reported CNN-IBN. The statistics given by the Goa Police also showed that here has been a whopping 132 percent increase in number of cases registered against Nigerians during 2011 and 2012.
"The (Nigerian) high commission is disturbed that no reports of drugs involving Nigerians surface before the incident. Suddenly, after the murder, it's all drugs. Even if a man is caught with drugs, there are laws to deal with that," Tokunbo Falohun, minister and spokesperson of the Nigerian high commission, said on Friday.
The Goa Police justified their action of detaining 51 Nigerians last week, saying that only one of those arrested had a valid passport. Out of those 51, 19 were registered with Goa Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO).
The diplomatic row between the two countries began after more than 50 Nigerians blocked a National Highway in Goa, demanding the arrest of those who murdered fellow Nigerian named Obado Simeon on 30 October over a drug trade. The Goa police has arrested two accused in the case.
