Constable Hans Varun Gaungoo, aged 31, and his wife Nancy Gaungoo, aged 38, née Jugroop, working as an executive assistant at Orange Business in Ebène, who were returning home after a week’s vacation from the Grand Peninsula, were arrested at Plaisance airport in the late afternoon of February 1. This after 13191.16 grams of hashish were found in their suitcases concealed in speakers. They were charged with importing hashish with an allegation of trafficking. The market value of the drugs seized is estimated at Rs 65,955,000. Six cartons containing a total of 11,400 sheets of rolling paper were also seized from their possession. On Friday morning, February 2, they were brought before the Mahebourg court before being taken back to the police cell.
The couple, who live in the Domah housing estate, 16th Mile, Forest Side, arrived in Mauritius at around 3.15pm on flight MK 745 from Delhi. Following profiling by Hans and Nancy Gaungoo, they were approached by police officers from the airport’s Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (Adsu) and subjected to a search. Sub-inspector Soondrum and Constable Moonesawmy discovered several granules wrapped in cellophane paper containing a solid mass of hashish. The whole weighing 13,191 grams and six cartons of “Roll your own cigarettes”, containing 11,400 sheets of paper (ti-papier). Hans Gaungoo’s suitcase contained 6,558 grams of hashish and 5,700 sheets of “ti-papier”, while his wife’s suitcase contained 6631 grams of hashish and 5,700 sheets of “ti-papier”.
After being questioned, Hans and Nancy Gaungoo were placed in cells at the Moka and Vacoas detention centers respectively. Their cell phones were seized for investigation purposes.
Constable Hans Gaungoo is an eleven-year veteran of the police force. He was stationed at Midlands Police Station.
