The Prime Minister said, during the Private Notice Question in Parliament this afternoon, that government is not convinced that the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit should be dismantled, as recommended by the Lam Shang Leen Commission. Seizures have exceeded Rs 1 billion since 2017. They involve 4 big ones seized by customs, ADSU, Police, MRA, in March 2017, October 2018, July 2019 and May 2021.
Details of cases
The cases cited in the NQP are mainly the 135 kg of heroin worth Rs 1.8 billion found in 6 cylinders in March 2017 on board the MCS Ivana, 100 kg of heroin seized in a speed boat worth Rs 1.5 billion in October 2018, 95 kg of cocaine worth Rs 1.4 billion in the backhoe loader landed in Mauritius along with the Metro express trains in July 2019 and 243 kg of heroin and 26 kg of hashish worth Rs 3. 6 billion in Pointe aux Canonniers in May 2021.
Progress of investigations
The Prime Minister began his response by highlighting “from 2017 to May 2022, 17,556 drug cases were detected and 15,571 people arrested. The market value of the drugs seized is estimated at about Rs 13.7 billion”, illustrating his crusade against drug trafficking.
He detailed that in the first case mentioned, the investigation into the seizure of 135 kilograms of drugs from the MSC Ivana in 2017, 8 suspects were arrested of which 2 were charged in the court of law with Money Laundering and served a sentence of 3 years, 5 suspects were brought on a provisional charge of Drug Dealing with Aggravating Circumstances and one suspect was untraceable. He also stated that “Legal assistance had been sought from South Africa and the UK. The investigation is expected to be completed shortly. The intractability of the suspect was however not taken up by the opposition leader.
On the investigation into the seizure of 100 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 1.5 billion from a speedboat in 2018, the PM announced that eight suspects have been arrested. The police are still investigating and are awaiting documents such as commercial banks and telephone operators’ bills and an Interpol report on foreign phone numbers. He estimated that “the investigation will be completed by the end of this year”.
For the seizure of 95 kilos, or Rs 1.4 billion of cocaine from a backhoe at the port in July 2019, “”No evidence has been obtained that could lead to any arrest,” he said, i.e. no arrest has been made even though 18 people have been interviewed.
As for the biggest case, the investigation into the 243 kilos of heroin and 26 kilos of hashish in May 2021 in Pointe-aux-Canonniers valued at Rs 3.6 billion, 8 suspects have been arrested, 6 of whom have been “remanded to jail” and 2 are being held in police cells.
Only 3 out of 120 cases tried in 5 years
PNQ replied the Opposition leader came back with the question “How come from 2017 to 2020, only 3 out of 120 registered cases have been tried in court?” The PM answered by highlighting the will of the authorities concerned in this fight against drugs by evoking the seizures exceeding Rs 1 billion. Xvier Luc Duval reminded the PM of 22 cases referred to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) from 2019 to 2022 and which have not yet had the necessary attention of the FSL. “I acknowledge that there are cases that have not been resolved, I do not deny. I will see to it to improve that”, he promised, recalling that in the past too there have been delays in investigations.
National Drug Investigation Commission
PM not yet convinced
XLD ended with a question about the lack of adequate and technological means of the ADSU compared to the MRA officers. Referring to the recommendations of the Lam Shang Leen report he asked “what is the Prime Minister going to do to better equip the ADSU officers? The PM replied that it is “incorrect to say that the ADSU lacks the necessary resources. Each has been allocated a separate budget. The Lam Shang Leen report does not say that the MRA is better equipped than the ADSU, but it had recommended a merger of these two authorities into one entity, the National Drug Investigation Commission. We are not yet convinced that this should be implemented,” he revealed. He also compared the technological advances in terms of equipment, personnel and training in the ADSU between the former and current governments. The PM tackled the Opposition Leader in a comment comparing the advances of ‘Peanuts’, the PM retorted, “Yes Peanuts, even these Peanuts. you were not giving!”
To a supplementary question from the Leader of the Opposition, Pravind Jugnauth recalls that his government has provided this police unit with equipment worth Rs 78 million in 2018. If necessary, he said, the number of officers in the ADSU will be revised upwards.
Xavier-Luc Duval was to draw the attention of the Head of Government to the slowness of the investigation and of certain institutions whose role is important in the fight against drugs.
