A joint operation by the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit and customs at SSR airport foiled an attempt to import cannabis concealed in two handmade raffia baskets.[1] Officers seized 525.59 grams of cannabis, which the authorities estimated to have a market value of Rs 1.575 million.[1][2][3] Investigators set up a controlled delivery that led to the arrest of two further suspects.[1][2][3] The case began on Sunday 1 November on the arrival of flight MK 289 from Antananarivo.[1][2] During a check, officers intercepted a 25-year-old Malagasy national identified as Kasaina Todisoa Fanomezantsoa, who was carrying two hand-woven raffia bags.[1][3] A thorough search found compressed vacuum-packed cannabis sachets hidden in the lining of each basket.[1] The investigators arranged the controlled delivery in order to identify the consignment’s intended recipients.[1]

That same evening the operation led to the detention of two men, including 23-year-old Malagasy national Sedera Ralaimarimana.[1] A company director living in Port-Louis was also questioned before being allowed to leave.[1][3] The next day, Monday 2 November, at about 10:25, 45-year-old mason Jean Marie Achille was arrested at Bonne-Veine, Quartier-Militaire, as he came to collect the parcel under surveillance.[1]

Investigators were still working to establish each suspect’s exact role in the suspected import network and to identify the cargo’s true recipient.[1] The three men remained in detention, with the intercepted airport passenger held in ADSU cells, Jean Marie Achille held at the airport police station and Sedera Ralaimarimana held at the Chaland detention centre.[1] The inquiry was continuing to establish the possible ramifications of the network between Madagascar and Mauritius.[1]

The interception occurred at about 21:15 and the 25-year-old courier worked as a taxi driver and lived in Antananarivo.[3]