Six North Koreans Arrested In Mauritius

Elements of the Passport and Immigration Office (PIO) arrested six North Koreans aboard the fishing boat, Jin Xiang N0 8, a Philippine-flagged ship, on Tuesday morning, December 6. They were on board this boat, which was about to set sail for a fishing campaign. The captain of this ship, Wang Wong was also arrested for saying that the fourteen members of his crew are all Filipinos. Since Tuesday, they have all been placed in a cell at the detention center in Le Chaland. This affair is closely followed by the Government House and the police headquarters at the Central Barracks.

It is based on certain information obtained by the PIO, that the director general of this department, the superintendent of police, Narendrakumar Boodhram, set up an operation early this Tuesday morning of December 6. He sought the assistance of elements of the National Coast Guard (NCG) and police officers from the Port police. The captain, Wang Wong was informed of the intention of the PIO officers to carry out a check on his crew members. The documents of these so-called fishermen were checked one by one. It turned out that six of them are of North Korean nationality and that they were not supposed to be on board this boat and were not yet authorized to be on Mauritian territory.

The Jin Xiang N0 8 arrived in Mauritius on Tuesday, November 22. Five of these six North Koreans are in their thirties while the sixth is 54 years old. The captain of the Jin Xiang N0 8 and the six North Koreans were brought before the Port-Louis court on Wednesday morning of December 7 before being taken back to the cell. An investigation was initiated into this affair at the level of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Port by the men of the assistant superintendent of police, Kailash Dussoye and placed under the supervision of the assistant police commissioner, Chandan Ramkeelewon.