Coming from France: a piano stuffed with hashish seized at Plaisance airport

A sophisticated scheme, uncovered at Plaisance airport, led to the seizure of a piano coming from France. The musical instrument was filled with hashish. A police operation, following this discovery, led to the arrest of an individual in Curepipe.

An ingenious trick put in place by traffickers was unmasked by the airport's anti-drug brigade (Adsu), in collaboration with customs. On Tuesday, May 14, packages arriving in Mauritius and stored in the Plaisance Air Transport Services (PATS) warehouse in Plaine-Magnien were checked by the authorities.

One of them, containing musical instruments, notably a piano, aroused the suspicions of the team led by Chief Inspector Goinden. These musical instruments, coming from France and intended for a resident of Curepipe, were subjected to an X-ray scanner by agents of the Customs Anti Narcotics Section (CANS). The presence of carefully concealed foreign bodies inside this piano was noted.

Police and customs officers quickly dismantled the instrument, confirming their suspicions with the discovery of several packages carefully hidden inside. Close inspection revealed the presence of substances suspected to be cannabis resin (hashish). As soon as the presence of narcotics was confirmed, the piano was immediately seized by Adsu.

The police then launched a controlled delivery operation, leading them to the Forest Side region, in Curepipe, where the recipient, a certain Clarel Désiré Jacques Monien, had come to collect the musical instruments. He was arrested by the narcotics squad. This Wednesday, this resident of Curepipe, employed in a garage, was brought before the courts on a provisional charge of drug importation. He remains in police custody.