Police in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, on Monday, 11 September 2023, arrested three individuals from Sierra Leone on charges of drug trafficking. 

This followed the discovery of 9.10 grams of cocaine and Rs 10,000, believed to be proceeds from drug sales. The arrested individuals are Daniel Tamba Moiba, a 38-year-old electrical engineer, James Koroma, a 36-year-old businessman, and 21-year-old student Fatmata Alima Bangura.

Local news website, Le Matinal reports that the operation, conducted by the Flying Squad of Mauritius Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU), was initiated around 2:50 pm based on information about foreign nationals involved in illicit activities.

Daniel Moiba was intercepted as he was about to drive off in a Honda. Upon being approached by the officers, who identified themselves, he attempted to flee but was promptly apprehended.

A search on Moiba revealed a packet of cocaine. Meanwhile, the other two, Koroma and Bangura, were escorted to the Flying Squad office at Central Barracks. A search of their car led to the finding of a plastic bag with six packages of cocaine and Rs 10,000 in the glove compartment. The officers believe this money to be linked to drug sales.

Later that day, around 6 pm, a residence in Butte à L’Herbe, Grand Gaube, where Moiba and Koroma resided, was searched. Officers found seventeen resealable sachets, suspecting them to be intended for drug packaging. However, a subsequent search at Fatmata Bangura’s home in Palma, Quatre-Bornes, yielded no results.

Moiba was detained at the Piton facility, while Bangura was kept at the Moka center. On the morning of 12 September, all three suspects were presented at the Port-Louis court, facing preliminary drug trafficking charges, after which they were returned to their holding facilities.