Wanted for at least four offenses since the start of the year, Polocco, a repeat offender since he was 15, was finally arrested on Thursday.
He was one of the most wanted suspects by the police. Princeley Steeve Serret, popularly known as Polocco, was arrested by the Flacq Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in an operation led by Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikash Babajee on Thursday, June 27. At the time of his arrest, Polocco, wanted for at least four offenses since the beginning of 2024, had in his possession gold jewelry estimated at Rs 1 million.
It was thanks to a special operation carried out with the help of the police intelligence units that Polocco was spotted by Detective Inspector Seebnauth's team, in Poste-de-Flacq, at the wheel of a car. Intercepted, the crook could not resist and was immediately placed in custody. Polocco will be provisionally charged with robbery with violence, attempted murder, among others. The jewelry found on him is suspected of being the spoils of his misdeeds. He will have to explain the origin of these gold objects to the police. The jewelry has been placed under seal.
Described as a collector of violent assault and robbery cases, Polocco inspires terror. In those around him, he is described as a big mouth. But it is also said that he does not hesitate to carry out his threats during fights. A notorious repeat offender, he has never been rehabilitated despite his numerous stays in prison. This resident of Ste-Croix continued his spiral of violence.
Crook since the age of 15
Indeed, Steeve Serret has been involved in escapades since a young age. In 1996, aged 15, he was arrested for burglary. On December 13, 1996, the Port-Louis court sentenced him to three years of probation, in a case of theft of money and cigarettes from a business. On August 22, 1997, Polocco was sentenced to two years of probation for larceny by night breaking. He did it again by robbing a store, where he stole food and cigarettes, with the participation of four henchmen. In April 1998, he received a prison sentence and was sent to the Correctional Youth Center (CYC).
Upon his release from prison, Polocco did not keep a low profile. In October 2001, before the Pamplemousses court, he was fined Rs 2,000 for attempted theft. Shortly afterwards, the Mapou court sentenced him to six months in prison for theft. Polocco was also arrested for burglary in a bungalow in Calodyne. A loot of Rs 184,000 had been taken. Barely out of prison, he was arrested for a theft case and sentenced to three months in prison.
In June 2002, Polocco was sentenced to a few months in prison for attempting to steal a motorcycle from La Tour Kœnig. In August 2002, he was sentenced to two years in prison for burglary. A few days later, already in detention, he was sentenced to a Rs 700 fine for vagrancy. A month later, Polocco was found guilty by the Port-Louis court for the offence of damaging property by gang and rebellion.
His name was cited in the murder of Denis Fine, killed by a gunshot to the head, in Morcellement Maison Blanche, Pamplemousses, in January 2010. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy.
Various attacks
In 2019, Polocco was accused of assaulting his nephew and, the same year, he was arrested for assaulting a National Coast Guard commando. In 2021, he was denounced for attacking his mother with a Molotov cocktail, injuring his aunt, who suffered second-degree burns.
In March 2024, he broke into his brother's home in Pointe-aux-Sables before attacking him with a knife and ransacking the premises. The dispute concerned accusations of brutality and mistreatment by Polocco towards his wife and five children. He even threw out his wife and two of his children. The latter's uncle, Polocco's brother, came to their rescue.
