They wanted to extort money from a 58-year-old firefighter on the road to La Flora on Thursday evening, 23, by making him believe that his car had hit the rearview mirror of their vehicle. In front of the refusal of this fifty-year-old to comply with their demand, his brother-in-law, a policeman who was in his company, was also taken to task. The two men say they can recognize their aggressors. Finally, on the afternoon of Friday, March 24, police officers from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of Grand-Bois arrested four residents of La Flora. They confessed.
This officer of the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service related his misadventure in the early hours of Friday morning, March 24, in a statement made at the police station in Grand Bois. He explained that around 11 pm on Thursday evening, March 23, he was driving his black Toyota Vitz car on the road to La Flora coming from Bois Chéri. He was in the company of his brother-in-law. Arriving near the soccer field of La Flora, the driver of a car of the same make as his own, white in color, began to make headlights calls and honk.
The 50-year-old said he stopped his vehicle, and the other car did the same. Four people got out of the car and started to insult them, “Bann…zot ine tap are mo laglas donn Rs 5000 are zot”. When he refused, two of his men tried to forcibly remove him from his car before shouting, “pa pou fer lamiab pa pou ale lapolis nanien donn kas Rs 5000”.
These men took his driver’s license which was in the pocket of his shirt in which there was a sum of about Rs 2000. During this struggle another of these individuals tried to take by force the cell phone of his brother-in-law. The latter was able to take back his phone. Before returning to their vehicle, one of these men kicked the mirror of his car. The damage of this one is estimated at Rs 5000.
The CID of Grand Bois which was seized of this case examined the images of the cameras of surveillance of a private individual on Friday March 24. This exercise allowed them to trace the white Toyota Vitz and to arrest its driver and the three occupants. These suspects are residents of La Flora, all are between 24 and 25 years old and have confessed. They were under the influence of alcohol when they spotted the car driven by this firefighter, they thought they could so, “so enn kou”. After a night in the police cell, this Saturday morning of March 25, they will be presented before the Bail and Remand Court in Port-Louis.
