115.7 kg cannabis seized in Madagascar bound for Mauritius
Malagasy customs seized 115.7 kg of cannabis and hashish plus heroin at Manjakandriana on 7 June 2018 after months of joint surveillance with Mauritius and Réunion. Nine people were arrested, including three Mauritians accused of moving the drugs via Nosy Be toward Mauritius.
Malagasy customs arrested three Mauritian men aged 44, 38 and 22, living at Baie
du Tombeau, Plaine Verte and Roche Bois, at Tamatave.[1]A second account
reports nine people arrested in the operation, including the three Mauritians.[2]The three Mauritians had been closely monitored by the customs authorities
of Mauritius, Réunion and Madagascar since March 2018.[1]
On 7 June 2018 Malagasy customs seized80.2 kg of cannabis, 35.5 kg of hashish
and 25.5 kg of heroin in Madagascar.[1]The 141.2 kg haul was estimated at
about Rs 519 million and was linked to three Mauritians.[1]The suspects
carried powdered heroin, hashish and compressed cannabis leaves in raffia bags.[1]According to intelligence, they were heading toward Nosy Be to ship the
drugs to Mauritius.[1]The seizure followed several months of surveillance in
a joint operation by the MRA and the customs services of Réunion and Madagascar.[1]
Madagascar’s customs director general called it the biggest seizure ever made in
Madagascar and the East Africa region.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Linfo.relinfo.reFRMadagascar : trois Mauriciens surpris avec 140 kilos de drogues
Open questions the AI reported
Le Mauricien places the arrests at Tamatave while Linfo.re places the night interception on the RN2 at Manjakandriana in a vehicle from Tamatave; the report uses Manjakandriana as the interception site.
Le Mauricien reports three Mauritians arrested while Linfo.re reports nine arrested including six Malagasy; the report uses nine, the fuller account.
The 115.7 kg cannabis figure is the sum of the separately stated 80.2 kg of cannabis and 35.5 kg of hashish; Linfo.re gives a different five-drug itemisation that is not used for figures.
The reported Rs 519 million total covers cannabis, hashish and 25.5 kg of heroin together, so no cannabis-only value is recorded.
No charges, court hearing or other outcome beyond the arrests was reported.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Linfo.re: The six other people arrested were Malagasy nationals, three men and three women.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Linfo.re: The second account places the night-time interception on the RN2 at Manjakandriana, in a Mercedes Sprinter coming from Tamatave and bound for Nosy Be.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Linfo.re: That account says the load was to be exported by sea to both Mauritius and Réunion.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Linfo.re: Mauritian media estimated the haul at about 519 million Mauritian rupees, or 13 million euros.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Linfo.re: The gendarmerie opened an inquiry to look for the traffickers’ alleged accomplices.
Madagascar's national gendarmerie seized 371 kg of cannabis in Antsirabe and arrested three men, it announced on 17 February 2026. The gendarmerie said reports from residents led officers to bags holding the drug.
The Sofia gendarmerie reported 1,440 kg of cannabis in 114 sacks seized around Antsohihy over six months, with 10 arrests. The stock was burned on 8 December, and another 400 kg was seized the same afternoon.
Madagascar's gendarmerie seized an estimated 250 kg of cannabis at Antakalanabe during a night patrol; the suspected traffickers fled and no arrest was reported. The load was taken to the local gendarmerie post for destruction under a judicial decision, while officials said the trafficking routes remained under surveillance.
Gendarmes on night patrol at Ambodimanary, near Antsohihy, seized twelve sacks holding nearly 200 kg of cannabis after the carriers fled into the dark. No arrests were made, and the sealed load was stored at the Antsohihy brigade pending court-ordered incineration.
