“Nou pe tir cab pou telekom, mo travay avek ene kontrakter”. This was the statement made by an individual to police officers from the Special Night Surveillance (SNS) team in the early hours of Monday morning, October 31, after being caught at the bottom of a manhole handling Mauritius Telecom (MT) cables in cité Vallijee. Suspect Mohammad Shamsheer Rojah, alias Sham 34, a resident of Plaine Verte, was incriminated by three residents of R “mo pa konn nanien , se premye fwa ki nou pe fer sa travay la”. oche Bois. The driver of a truck had to declare, The two other suspects and this driver say they were offered a sum of Rs 3000 per person for this work.
It was around 1.10 a.m. on Monday October 31. The SNS team of the Metropolitan Police South Division, led by Sergeant Attock, was on patrol on Route Royale in Cité Vallijee, near the soccer field. A blue Toyota truck was parked to the left of the road, heading towards the Central Barracks. The police approached the vehicle and saw the driver in the back. Three other people were handling copper cables, one of them in a manhole. When questioned about their presence there, the man in the manhole, wearing a blue fluorescent vest with the inscription, “Telecom Contractor”, had to say, “Nou pe tir cab pou telekom, mo travay avek ene kontrakter”.
The truck had a load of cable and driver Vivek Chengubraydoo, aged 27 and living on Sainte Croix, was to say, “mo pa konn nanien , se premye fwa ki nou pe fer sa travay la”. As this operation was suspicious, the police were certain that it was a case of cable theft to the detriment of the MT. The suspects were informed of their rights before being arrested and taken to the Central Barracks.
The other three people arrested were Jean Pierre Milazar, 25, Joseph Roussette Zameer, 22 and John Kelly Leopold, 35. Several tools were seized, including a crusher, a hammer, an axe, pliers and a knife in the bed of the truck as exhibits. A chief engineer at MT confirmed that these cables are MT property, as is the fluorescent vest worn by Shamsheer Rojah.
The five suspects were taken into custody before being brought before the Port Louis court on a provisional charge of theft. They were subsequently taken back into custody.
