Foreigners involved in crimes such as drug peddling use the help of locals to flee from the law. It has become a cost-making-deal for locals in Goa to earn a lot of money. They take advantage of the situation and encourage the crime rate.
HOW THIS WORKS
The locals stand as sureties throughout the case for the foreign nationals. In keeping with the strategy, the locals appear in court in place of the accused (foreign nationals) for bail on their behalf.
NOTHING IS DONE FOR FREE
In exchange for this, they are paid 5,000 by lawyers to stand as sureties in court. Sometimes even the bail amount, ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 is handed over to them by the lawyers. On investigation, the sureties were not aware of the whereabouts of the accused.
OUT OF THE SCENE
583 foreigners are involved in various crimes over a period of five years. The Goa police have found that 333 could not be traced . Out of these 208 were from Nigeria or from other African countries. Some unethical lawyers have brought probes in over 300 cases registered in Goa against fugitives, to a halt.
After analysing data, the Goa police found that a majority of the foreigners – who managed to secure bail – are not available during the investigation, even after they have been issued summons. Once bail is granted almost 57 per cent of the accused cannot be traced by the investigating authorities.
When the accused (foreigners) are not traceable, the police issue summons to the sureties. A senior police officer said that when they questioned the surety about the whereabouts of the accused, they were informed that they are unaware of the accused person’s whereabouts.
