Brazilian with drug links held in Goa for overstaying deported

A Brazilian man wanted for drug crimes in the South American nation was deported on July 3 after he was arrested here for overstaying, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Assembly on Tuesday.

In a written reply, Sawant said Joao Pedro Duarte Oliveira Souza was wanted for narcotics-related crimes in Brazil and had overstayed in Goa, following which he was arrested on June 24.

Souza was lodged in the recently inaugurated Detention Centre facility at Mapusa town before being sent back to Brazil on a flight from Dabolim Airport, he said.

The Goa CM informed the House that between January, 2016 and July 14 this year, 26 foreign nationals were deported for staying illegally in the state.

During 2019, police had booked 30 foreign nationals for overstaying in the state, he said, adding that the figure was 52 for 2018 and 55 for 2017.

Speaking on the drug issue in the state, Sawant said police had not found any "high tech laboratories" here involved in manufacturing contraband.

"Between January 1 and June 30 this year, Goa police have made 114 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act," he told the House.

The chief minister was responding to a question tabled in the House by Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco.