In August 2012 Eduard Faleiro, former Union Minister, reiterated the Russian mafia threat to Morjim and Goa. He said, "Russians with criminal background are buying properties through benami means". The state health minister Laxmikant Parsekar said at a gram sabha meeting at the Morjim village panchayat that "these Russians have all kinds of vices and the moment the Russian tourists come to one place all other tourists flee from there. Even earlier, we had tourists from other countries but we never had this problem." Parsekar said the quantity of Russian tourists in the state had triggered a virtual cultural invasion in Morjim and surrounding areas and because of their sheer numbers, the Russians were indulging in "dadagiri".