PANAJI
A statewide inquiry conducted by the Goa police into overseas recruitment activities has found that registered recruitment agencies in the State are not involved in sending jobseekers to Southeast Asian countries. However, the exercise revealed a pattern of fake addresses, closed offices and unreachable contact numbers linked to suspected illegal recruiters.
A media statement issued by Crime Branch on Monday comes in response to a report in The Goan which highlighted that, despite repeated warnings and rise in complaints, illegal recruitment agents continue to operate in Goa.
As of December 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) identified 15 unregistered recruitment agencies functioning in the State and sought police action to crack down on such operators. At the same time, 13 registered active recruitment agents or agencies are operating in Goa.
However, Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Rahul Gupta said no active illegal recruitment operation had come to the fore during the inquiry.
He revealed that their inquiry focused on recruitment for overseas employment to Southeast Asian countries from January 1, 2024, till date. The exercise was undertaken as a preventive measure against “cyber slavery”, a growing form of exploitation in which victims are trafficked abroad and forced into online fraud and other illegal activities.
“It was found that registered and known recruitment agencies currently operating in Goa are not engaged in recruiting candidates for Southeast Asian countries. Their operational details and recruitment profiles have been verified and recorded. The enquiry about agencies recruiting in South East Asia was conducted with the purpose of preventive ‘Cyber Slavery’ of Goans in these countries,” he said.
The inquiry was conducted through beat officers across all concerned subdivisions, who carried out field verification, checked office locations, interacted with local sources and examined the nature of recruitment activities being undertaken.
At the same time, police verified suspected illegal recruitment agencies and individuals operating in the State. “In a majority of cases, the addresses were found to be incorrect or non-existent, offices were closed, or no recruitment activity was found at the given locations,” Gupta added.
He further revealed that most contact numbers linked to such entities were either switched off, unreachable or unrelated to recruitment work. In some cases, individuals contacted by the police clarified that they were not presently involved in overseas recruitment.
“No active illegal recruitment operation has come to light during the enquiry,” the SP claimed.
Since January 2024, Goa Police have registered 18 First Information Reports (FIRs) in recruitment fraud cases. Of these, 10 accused have been arrested and eight cases have been chargesheeted so far.
Gupta said staff has been directed to maintain continuous vigilance and intelligence-gathering on any suspected recruitment activity. “Given the sensitivity of overseas employment and the possibility of exploitation, monitoring at the local level will continue,” he said.
