Dismantling of a boat engine theft network: the Madagascar-Réunion/Mauritius drug shipment trail suspected

The investigation carried out by the DCIU Northern, the CID of Trou-aux-Biches and that of Grand-Baie into a network of boat engine thefts is rich in discoveries.

It took three months of investigation for investigators from the Northern Division’s Divisional Crime Intelligence Unit to follow the trail and track down this network. Although initially these appeared to be simple cases of theft, examination of the frequency of these offenses quickly convinced the DCIU Northern that this was an organized gang which mainly came from the Western region.  This network would specialize in theft of boat engines, including speedboats, moored in the northern lagoons. These would be stolen at sea from certain boats, then installed on others. These engines would be used for crossings on the Madagascar–Réunion–Mauritius axis, as part of missions linked to drug trafficking.

Six people were arrested in the wake of this investigation which looms large over the involvement of a “boss” from Petite-Rivière. This man, recently investigated by the Financial Crime Commission in a money laundering case, would be involved in preparing boats for drug conveyance missions on this maritime route.

The suspects are also suspected of having stolen a boat equipped with two engines, all worth Rs 750,000. In addition to the lagoons of Trou-aux-Biches, Grand-Baie and Bain-Bœuf, they also raided Circle Square, in Forbach, where a Suzuki brand engine, attached to a boat and worth Rs 125,000, was stolen.

Faced with these numerous cases of theft, the DCIU Northern began a field investigation which led them to Cité Richelieu, Petite-Rivière, to a man named Julio Jean Michel Lajoie, 35 years old, already convicted for cases of drug trafficking in the past. During a search carried out in the thirty-year-old's courtyard, boats and engines were discovered, as well as fishing equipment.

In order to dismantle this network, large-scale operations were carried out by the DCIU Northern, the Maritime Intelligence Cell (MIC), the Criminal Investigation Division of Trou-aux-Biches and the commandos of the Mauritius Police Intervention Group (GIPM). In turn, Pierre Serge Stellio Victor, 53 years old, Habitual Criminal (HC), from Cité Richelieu, was arrested on April 6. Positively identified by Julio Jean Michel Lajoie, he is suspected of being involved in these thefts of boat engines.

As the investigation progressed, DCIU Northern attempted to contact other members of the network. Last Tuesday, investigators arrested Kamlesh Bolaky, 51, resident of La Tour Koenig. Two years ago, this skipper was arrested by the Reunion gendarmerie in 2024 after the sinking of the fishing boat “Mao”, stranded against the coast of Reunion in Champ Borne, Saint-André, on May 30, 2024. During this outing at sea for a “par