- Petite-Rivière police alerted
The Petite-Rivière police are investigating the disappearance of 29.9 tonnes of iron bars, placed under seal by the Consumer Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Commerce since February 2022. During an inspection raid on May 13, 2024, Ministry officers noticed that the container in question was empty. Despite the seal, individuals managed to remove the iron bars before replacing the seal.
This shipment of iron bars had been imported from India. During an inspection in February 2022, where samples were analyzed, ministry representatives informed the importing company that they did not meet the standards required in Mauritius. At the time, the company gave assurances that this cargo would be returned to India.
In October 2022, a team from the ministry carried out an inventory. In total, 30 batches of iron bars were found in the container before it was sealed. On May 13, 2024, during an inspection by the Consumer Affairs Unit, in the presence of a representative of the importer, the seals dated October 26 were still in place, but when the container was opened, the iron bars had disappeared. Questioned by ministry officers, the importer's representative was unable to provide any explanation for the disappearance of the iron bars, whose value is estimated at Rs 1 million.
In a statement to the police on Friday June 28, a ministry official stressed that the quality of the iron bars was below the standards imposed in Mauritius, highlighting security risks for those who would use these materials. He also suspects the importing company of having fraudulently recovered the iron bars, thereby committing an offense under the Fair Trading Act 1979.
