Panaji, Oct 31 (IANS): The murder of a Nigerian national and the blockade of National Highway 17 on the outskirts of the Goa capital by 200 African nationals Thursday was a message from drug cartels, state Congress president Subhash Shirodkar said.

The state Congress chief said state authorities were being sent a tough message by drug cartels ahead of the peak tourism season in the state.

Shirodkar also supported a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the findings of a legislative committee, which indicted senior Congressman and former home minister Ravi Naik and his son, charging them with links with the state's drug mafia.

"Those Nigerians involved in crime should be deported immediately. It is quite possible that the whole episode is linked to the drug trade. This could be a pre-season message from the underworld to the government," Shirodkar said, addressing a press conference.

Earlier Thursday, 50 Africans were arrested for rioting, arson and blocking traffic on the national highway in protest against the murder of a Nigerian national in the wee hours Thursday.

Over 200 Africans had virtually taken over a patch of road on the highway and stopped a police ambulance carrying the body of the Nigerian national. They even dragged the body out of the van and on to the road.

Minor skirmishes between local people and the Africans followed, forcing the police to dispatch two companies of personnel to the scene.

Shirodkar says the Goa government should write to the union government demanding that blanket visas should not be given to Nigerian and Kenyan nationals, "in order to ensure peace and tranquillity in Goa".

The Congress leader also said that the findings of several police raids had proved that a significant percentage of the African student community in Goa was linked to the drug trade.

"The bad elements have to be weeded out," Shirodkar said.