A profiling exercise carried out on a software engineer of Nigerian nationality at Plaisance airport in the early hours of Sunday morning, September 3, uncovered 73.76 grams of the drug khat and a sum of Rs 477,478 in US dollars and Rs 3,520 in Kenyan shillings respectively. The man, Morris Macharia Musyoka, 32, had arrived in Mauritius as a tourist. He was to stay at the Hotel Saint Géran for fourteen days.
This is the first time that this drug has been seized in Mauritius, according to a source at the headquarters of the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (Adsu) at the Casernes Centrales. It is cultivated in East Africa and the south-western Arabian Peninsula. This drug is in the same class as amphetamine.
Morris Macharia Musyoka arrived at Plaisance airport on Kenya Airways flight KQ 274 at around 4.05am on Sunday September 3. Following a profiling exercise, the software engineer was stopped and searched, along with his luggage, by members of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Section (Cans) of the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) and the airport’s Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (Adsu). Leaves suspected of being dangerous drugs, known as khats or Mira, were found in his luggage.
A sum of Rs 474,478 in US dollars and Rs 3520 in Kenyan shillings was found in his possession. A black IPhone in his possession was also seized as evidence. During questioning, he said he had brought the drugs for his own consumption.
This Nigerian tourist, who lives in Kenya, was on his first visit to Mauritius. He was brought before the court in Mahebourg on Monday September 4. He is facing a provisional charge of importing dangerous drugs. As the police objected to his release on parole, he was taken back into custody.
