Four Mauritian men were detained after their speedboat ran aground at Maharavo Ambohitralanana in Antalaha district on Madagascar’s east coast on 20 July 2026.[1][2][3] They were taken to Antananarivo and handed to the judicial police directorate at Toby Ratsimandrava.[4] Fishermen helped the occupants and then alerted the Malagasy authorities.[1][2]

The occupants tried to pass themselves off as Réunion residents and used false identities.[1][2] They were identified as David Kingsley Chicot, 34, Ismaël Benjamin Yoel, 28, Jean David Legentil, 30, and Brian Bowanee, 29, all Mauritian nationals.[1] No illicit substance was found aboard, but investigators working with Mauritius’s ADSU anti-drug unit favour a drug-trafficking hypothesis.[4] The speedboat had left Mauritius on 17 July and had already been under surveillance for several months.[1]

Mauritius’s Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit and Financial Crimes Commission are examining whether a possible drug cargo was bound for Mauritius.[1] Investigators are checking whether a link exists between Ashley Rose and the four Mauritians’ trip.[1][3] One hypothesis under verification is that part of any cargo could have been ordered for or destined to Mauritius.[1] Yoel and Legentil are also concerned by another inquiry into the seizure of more than 300 kg of cannabis from a boat coming from Madagascar.[1] Legentil and Yoel were already being prosecuted in a cannabis-trafficking case estimated at nearly 375 billion ariary and had been released on bail in January 2025 in Mauritius.[5] Their presence in Madagascar was described as a clear breach of those bail conditions.[5]

Their speedboat, which reportedly had been stolen and bore no registration, broke apart on the reefs.[5][2] The fast boat used had been under surveillance since March and is central to the Mauritian police investigation.[5] An ADSU team spent two weeks in Madagascar questioning them about the expedition’s financing, contacts and the final destination of any drug cargo.[5][3] They were presented to the prosecutor and placed in pre-trial detention.[5][2] They were being held at the Tsiafahy prison and could be returned to Mauritius.[5] Mauritian police filed an official extradition request, which was awaiting a Malagasy decision under a mutual legal assistance agreement.[5][2]

A delegation of Mauritius’s Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit was in Madagascar questioning the detainees about traffickers’ strategies for bringing drugs into Mauritius.[2] The suspects were aged from 29 to 35.[2] Two of the Mauritians held in Madagascar were already being prosecuted in Mauritian cannabis-trafficking cases.[2] The case raised questions about the effectiveness of monitoring defendants released on bail.[2] One of the detained suspects is said to be involved in the attempted import to Mauritius of the 155.7 kg of cannabis seized at Bras-Panon.[2] Mauritian inspectors said the arrests could help close several air and sea entry routes.[2]