NORTH — Real estate scam: A fake PMO advisor placed in police detention

A 48-year-old resident of Grand-Baie, working as a canvasser, was arrested Monday by investigators from the Divisional Crime Intelligence Unit Northern and the Criminal Investigation Division of Grand-Baie as part of several investigations into scam and fraud. The suspect was apprehended in a shopping center in the area while he was shopping. During his interrogation, he confessed. He was placed in detention. One of the cases concerns an 85-year-old French national, retired and residing in Pointe-aux-Piments. The latter explained that she met the suspect in 2022 through her daughter. The man offered her the purchase of a villa in Mont-Choisy, the value of which was estimated between 120,000 and 150,000 euros. Convinced by the project, the octogenarian gave him around 20,000 euros to different occasions, notably in Triolet, Pamplemousses and Pointe-aux-Piments. After checking, she discovered that the villa was already occupied by another person. When she and her daughter went to the workplace of the forty-year-old in Triolet to obtain explanations, the latter threatened them and denied knowing them. The victim also declared that the suspect had taken a copy of his passport as well as his disability card under the pretext that these documents would be used for procedures related to a future pension in Mauritius. In another complaint registered at the Grand-Baie police station, a commercial representative of 54 years old claims to have been defrauded of several hundred thousand rupees. She said she met the suspect in December 2025. He presented himself as an advisor to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and made her believe that the government intended to sell seized NHDC houses in Mont-Choisy and Pointe-aux-Canonniers. A first meeting took place on December 29 2025 in Mont-Choisy, in the presence of the sales representative's children. The suspect showed them two houses before demanding Rs 14,000 to begin administrative procedures. Subsequently, several other payments were made in different localities in the North, notably in Goodlands, Mapou, Daruty, Calodyne and Pointe-aux-Canonniers, under various pretexts, such as a house deposit, District Council fees, lawyer fees, costs survey, permit and land contract. In total, the family said they handed over Rs 412,600 to the crook. The latter then interrupted all contact, although the handover of the house was scheduled for March 19. However, a sum of Rs 30,000 would have been reimbursed to the daughter of the fifty-year-old on January 26, with the promise that the rest of the money would be returned. To date, the victim believes she was defrauded of Rs 382,600. The investigation also revealed that the suspect does not work