Indian police detain Israeli for staying without valid travel documents following drug charges

Indian police in Goa arrested Israeli national David Driham, 51, on Friday for staying without valid travel documents. The immigration-related detention follows a 2025 cocaine case and a 2010 drug case where Driham was cleared after claiming police planted evidence. The arrest occurred when police checked on him and he could not produce documents, leading to his detention in Mapusa.

Indian police in Goa arrested Israeli national David Driham, 51, on Friday, October 2, 2026, on suspicion of staying in India without valid travel documents. The arrest, reported by local media citing Anjuna police, is an immigration-related detention rather than a new drug offense. Driham, known locally as "David" or "Dudu," could not produce travel documents when police checked on him in the morning and was sent to a detention center in Mapusa. The arrest comes against the backdrop of an open cocaine case from June 2025, in which India's Narcotics Control Bureau alleged he was found with approximately 11.2 grams of cocaine in Anjuna. He was released on bail the following day after a magistrate ruled he had not been provided with a written copy of the grounds for his arrest. In December 2025, the NCB filed a charge sheet, and on July 15, 2026, he was released under restrictive conditions including surrendering his passport and a prohibition on leaving India. Driham was also involved in a 2010 drug case where he was dubbed an "Israeli drug baron" but was later cleared after his claim that police had planted the drugs was accepted; the court ordered the police officers accused of fabricating the case to stand trial.