‘Dunki’ tales of 2 Goans deported from US: Robbed at knife-point, tortured and captured

In their statements, the South Goa men in their 20s said they were told by a “consultant” that they could enter the US legally by seeking asylum and that “his people” would take them from Mexico to the US in a cargo ship.

Goan officials said they would not make the names of the two men public out of “privacy concerns” amid an ongoing investigation.

One of the victims, aged 25, said in the statement that he had completed a continuous discharge course (CDC) in 2020 and aspired to work abroad on a ship.

According to his statement, in September last year, while working at a resort in Goa, he met someone who ran a “consultancy” in Vasco and claimed to have sent people legally to the US for work. The “consultant” asked for Rs 15 lakh and offered to send him to the US in three months and provide him a job at a hotel there. The 25-year-old paid him Rs 10 lakh and shared his passport and other documents. The remaining sum was to be paid upon reaching the US as per the deal.

The other Goan deportee, a 23-year-old, had applied for a J1 visa – typically for people approved to participate in work and study-based exchange visitor programmes – and paid Rs 1.5 lakh to an agent, but the process fell through.

Meanwhile, he met the same “consultant” in May 2024 and paid him Rs 8 lakh – half of it in cash – to be sent to the US, he said in his statement. He was told by the consultant that he could enter the US by seeking asylum if he would tell authorities there that “he had enemies in India who wanted to kill him”.

On January 20, the duo travelled from Goa to Mumbai and subsequently took a flight to Istanbul. They boarded another flight and reached Mexico on January 22, where they stayed at a hotel for a day. The next day, they were taken to the city of Tijuana, where one ‘Chino’ – a contact of the consultant – and his associates took them to “cross the border by climbing the wall with the help of a ladder”.

In his statement, the 25-year-old said they were unable to climb the wall and were subsequently “tortured”. They were then “robbed at knife-point” at the border, with their phones, watches and money – $300 and $380 respectively – taken from them.

Along with two Afghan nationals, the Goan duo were then told “by those people” to run across the border towards US at San Diego. They did this by running through a border gate when it opened for trucks to pass through. Subsequently, they were caught by a US border patrol team.

They were kept at a detention centre for 20 days before being deported.

Narendra Sawaikar, Commissioner for NRI Affairs, said, “I would appeal to Goans who intend to go abroad for livelihood that they should follow all protocols and have all documentation in place. They should also verify the credentials of the agencies and agents through which they are planning to go abroad.”