Seizure of synthetic drugs worth Rs 7.7 million in 2019: Clinton Georgy Tyloo remains in detention

He has been in preventive detention since 2019 after the seizure of 515.9 grams of synthetic drugs on March 11 in the PATS warehouse in Plaine-Magnien. Clinton Georgy Tyloo, a 41-year-old resident of Floréal, remains in detention. The decision was pronounced on January 31, 2024, by Judge Raatna Seetohul-Toolsee, in the Supreme Court.

Clinton Georgy Tyloo was arrested on April 5, 2019 following the seizure of three packages of drugs in the Plaisance Air Transport Services (PATS) warehouse in Plaine-Magnien, by customs officers and those of the anti-drug brigade (Adsu ). The packages, containing three plastic sachets concealing synthetic drugs worth Rs 7,738,500, had been shipped to Mauritius via an express delivery company from Dubai.

On February 13, 2023, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) filed a formal drug trafficking charge against Clinton Georgy Tyloo. He is accused of having imported 515.9 grams of synthetic drugs on March 11, 2019. His lawyer, Sunjiv Soyjaudah, filed a request for release on bail, but the prosecution, represented by Me Devina Vythelingum, objected to this request, citing the risks of flight, recidivism and interference with witnesses.

According to police, Clinton Georgy Tyloo drove to the warehouse on March 18, 2019 with an accomplice to take possession of the packages. The latter had initially exonerated the forty-year-old, but then implicated him as being the mastermind behind this transaction. The police also have recordings from surveillance cameras – showing that Clinton Georgy Tyloo came to take possession of the drug packages – as well as telephone exchanges between the two protagonists.

During the debates surrounding his request for release, Clinton Georgy Tyloo declared that he would respect all the conditions that the Court imposed on him and denied the accusation against him, while claiming to have a clean criminal record.

The court noted that the packages were in the name of Clinton acolyte Georgy Tyloo and that he is not in custody, raising the risk of potential interference. Judge Raatna Seetohul-Toolsee concluded that this risk is indeed plausible. Also, the forty-year-old is facing a trial before the Assize Court and is liable to a heavy prison sentence, which increases the risk of flight.

In her ruling, the judge considered imposing conditions to reduce the risks, but noted that this would not be enough to mitigate the risks, given the proximity of the trial and the state of mind of Clinton Georgy Tyloo. She therefore concluded that continued detention was justified.