Drug Haul at Brisée-Verdière Cold Storage: Heroin, Meth and Synthetic Cannabinoids Seized

Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU) officers uncovered a drug operation inside a refrigerated warehouse in Brisée-Verdière — a village on Mauritius's east coast — on Sunday, 4 October, leading to the arrest of one suspect and the escape of another. Officers arrived at the cold storage facility to find two men handling aluminium foil wraps and suspicious substances on a table. The moment police identified themselves, both men ran. One — a 34-year-old local resident — managed to escape. The other, a 26-year-old technician also from Brisée-Verdière, was intercepted almost immediately and placed under arrest. **What was seized** The haul recovered at the scene was significant and varied: - A plastic bag containing **21 aluminium foil wraps holding approximately 1.81 grams of heroin** - A bag with **23 aluminium foil wraps plus a parcel containing a combined 11.80 grams of synthetic cannabinoids** — a category of man-made substances designed to mimic the effects of cannabis, often far more potent and unpredictable - **Four capsules of Valium (Diazepam 10 mg)**, a prescription sedative - A sealed plastic bag with **three foil wraps containing 0.39 grams of crystal methamphetamine** - An **electronic scale** used for weighing and packaging the drugs The presence of pre-wrapped foil packets and a weighing scale strongly suggests the drugs were being prepared for street-level distribution rather than personal use. **Searches at suspects' homes** ADSU officers subsequently searched the homes of both suspects. According to the original report, those searches did not yield further significant finds — though the investigation remains ongoing. The fugitive 34-year-old has not yet been apprehended. **What this means** The ADSU — the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit, a specialist branch of the Mauritius Police Force — routinely targets distribution networks rather than end users. The variety of substances found here, from heroin and crystal meth to synthetic cannabinoids and prescription sedatives, points to a multi-product supply operation serving different segments of the local drug market. Synthetic cannabinoids in particular have become a growing concern for Mauritian authorities in recent years, as they are difficult to detect, easy to disguise, and carry serious health risks including psychosis and cardiac events. The 26-year-old suspect is expected to be charged and produced before a district court. Police are continuing to search for the second man. Source: ION News