Boat Engine Thefts in the North: Police Tracking a Maritime Drug Network

Title: Boat Engine Thefts in the North: Police Tracking a Maritime Drug Network

Content: The investigation by the Divisional Crime Intelligence Unit (DCIU) of the Northern Division is focusing on a maritime drug trafficking network operating between Madagascar, Réunion, and Mauritius, following the theft of engines and boats along the northern coast. Two suspects have been arrested: Julio Jean Michel Lajoie, 35, from Cité Richelieu in Petite-Rivière, and Pierre Serge Stellio Victor, also from the same area. Currently in custody, both men are facing provisional charges of theft.

The police are actively searching for a third suspect, Kamlesh Boolaky, who surfaced on the shores of Réunion in 2024 after a boat capsized. Any information regarding his whereabouts should be reported to hotline 148.

The DCIU Northern initiated the investigation after several reports of boat engine thefts in February and March. Investigators discovered similarities in these incidents, prompting further inquiries.

On the night of March 15-16, a fisherman from Trou-aux-Biches reported the theft of a Yamaha engine valued at Rs 30,000, which had been attached to his boat anchored in the lagoon. A second engine was also tampered with but was not taken. In the same lagoon, a boat equipped with two engines worth Rs 750,000 was stolen. A similar incident occurred in the lagoon of Balaclava.

In February, a Suzuki engine valued at Rs 125,000 was stolen from a boat at Circle Square in Forbach. During the same month, another engine was taken from a fishing boat in the lagoon of Trou-aux-Biches, while a Yamaha engine was stolen from a fishing vessel in the lagoon of Bain-Bœuf. Additionally, a boathouse in Bain-aux-Biches was burglarized, with fishing equipment worth Rs 600,000 taken.

The DCIU Northern and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of Trou-aux-Biches have gathered evidence suggesting that the engines stolen during this period were likely installed on other stolen boats to facilitate drug transport along the Madagascar–Réunion–Mauritius maritime route. There are indications of involvement from a "boss" in the West, already under scrutiny by the Financial Crimes Commission.

Through field intelligence gathering, the DCIU traced leads back to Julio Jean Michel Lajoie from Cité Richelieu. On Thursday, April 2, a significant contingent of the DCIU Northern, CID of Trou-aux-Biches, Maritime Intelligence Cell, MARCOS commandos, Special Response Group (SRG), and Special Supporting Unit (SSU) descended on Cité Richelieu to arrest him. A search of his home revealed presumed stolen big-game fishing equipment from the North.

Pierre Serge Stellio Victor, already known to the justice system, was also apprehended. Julio Jean Michel Lajoie has previously been convicted for drug trafficking and possession of offensive weapons.