The Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (Adsu) of the Eastern Division carried out a major bust in the early hours of Friday morning, September 15. They seized one hundred kilos of cannabis (zamal) from Réunion in two vehicles, and arrested four people. The drug has a street value of Rs 125 million. The suspects are Arvind Beelatoo, a 27-year-old contractor from Bambous, Jean Emmanuel Auguste, a 24-year-old driver’s helper from Cité Barkly, Beau-Bassin, Géraldo Perle, alias Steeven, a 37-year-old contractor from Le Morne and Pierre Percy Bertrand Tuyau, 44, from Cité EDC, Circonstance, Saint Pierre. On Friday morning, a speedboat reported missing in La Preneuse, Rivière Noire, was found on Tamarin beach. Adsu suspects that it may be involved in this major zamal seizure.
It was on the basis of information that a shipment of drugs had been landed in Mauritius that an operation was mounted by an Adsu team from the Eastern Division, led by Chief Inspector Moosun under the supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police Seeparsand. At 3:30 a.m. on Friday, September 15, 202, a black Nissan Juke and a Toyota Hilux 4×4 were intercepted on Route Royale in Cascavelle. Both vehicles were suspected of transporting a large quantity of drugs.
The 4×4 driven by Arvind Beelatoo was arrested. A search of the vehicle revealed nine black handbags. Each contained several parcels of zamal. The Nissan Juke forced its way through and fled. This was the start of a chase in which Adsu vehicles were involved. With the help of reinforcements, the suspect car was stopped in the area of Gentilly, Moka, with its three occupants on board. They are Emmanuel Auguste, Géraldo Perle and Percy Tuyau. Adsu police officers seized seven handbags containing more parcels of drugs, including zamal, Reunion’s cannabis.
The four suspects and the two vehicles were taken to Adsu headquarters at the Casernes centrales. The sixteen handbags containing a total of one hundred and twenty-four parcels of drugs were seized as evidence.
Arvind Beelatoo has a clean criminal record, while the other three suspects have police records. Emmanuel Auguste was arrested in 2017 for drug trafficking. He was found in possession of Tramadol tablets, classified as a psychotropic drug. Géraldo Perle has committed several offenses, including possession of cannabis, sexual relations, sodomy and sexual abuse of a minor. He is currently on parole for sexual relations with a specific person. Percy Tuyau also has a lengthy criminal record, including possession of cannabis, possession of cannabis seeds, obstruction, rebellion and possession of an offensive weapon.
Adsu does not rule out the hypothesis that a boat reported missing on the morning of Thursday September 14 in the lagoon of La Preneuse, Rivière Noire could be involved in this drug affair. It was found during the day on Friday September 15 on Tamarin beach.
According to a source at the Casernes Centrales, this is the umpteenth seizure of cannabis in Réunion, indicating that there is still a route for transporting the drug by sea in the western region of the country.
The four suspects arrested are due to be brought before the Bail and Remand Court (BRC) in Port-Louis this Saturday morning, September 16. They are charged with drug importation.
