NDEA records ‘significant’ drug seizures in only three weeks |24 January 2015

It is only three weeks into the New Year 2015 and already operations mounted by the National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA) have resulted in several significant drug seizures.

The drugs seized during this period have a street value of more than a quarter of a million rupees.

Those arrested include a farmer, a purchasing officer, a gardener and a shipping company employee.
 
All those arrested will be brought before the courts to face possible drug trafficking charges.

The latest seizure occurred on Thursday this week when almost a quarter of a kilo of compressed cannabis was seized from a boat at the Interisland Quay.

The seizure is believed to have been a consignment belonging to a drug distribution network operating between Mahé and La Digue.
 
One person has been arrested and taken into custody pending the outcome of the investigation.

On January 12 in one of the first suspected trafficking cases for this year, NDEA agents arrested a 27-year-old shipping company employee. This follows an intelligence led operation that resulted in the seizure of 72 packets of herbal material weighing approximately 37 grammes, successfully removing them from the illicit drug market.

On January 15 a NDEA patrol unit operating in the Petit Paris area arrested a 31-year-old unemployed man from Cascade in connection with a seizure of controlled drugs suspected to be heroin that was discovered during the course of a search in a Cascade apartment.

The man has since been brought before the courts and is now awaiting further formalities.

NDEA agents uncovered a cannabis plantation in the La Batie area on January 17, leading to the arrest of a 42-year-old farmer. The plantation was concealed among heavy undergrowth in a forest thereby obscuring the plantation from view. In a follow-up search of the arrestee’s residence, a further eight packets of drugs were found and seized as evidence.  

In an additional operation on January 18 in the Bel Ombre area, the NDEA uncovered approximately 70 grammes of herbal material and arrested a 57-year-old purchasing officer in connection with the seizure.
 
The suspected controlled substance was found concealed underneath the battery compartment of a motor cycle.