During the night of Sunday to Monday, an operation of the gendarmerie made it possible to intercept fifteen people, including thirteen Malagasy and two Saudi nationals, while they were preparing to embark clandestinely towards Mayotte. The suspects were arrested in an isolated cabin by the sea, in Ampasibitiky, in the district of Ambanja.
Around 1 in the morning, a coastal patrol of the Ankingameloka gendarmerie was alerted by a witness signaling the presence of a suspect group near the coast. On the spot, the police discovered the fifteen individuals, including passengers, crew members and the owner of a star. According to the investigators, they were about to take the sea illegally.
The arrested, aged 16 to 49, came from different regions of Madagascar, notably Ambanja, Antsiranana and Mahajanga. The two Saudi nationals, in possession of their passports, as well as the other suspects, transported bags containing clothes and personal effects, suggesting a preparation for a long journey.
Currently placed in police custody, they are the subject of an investigation to elucidate the circumstances of this attempted illegal emigration and to dismantle this traffic which seems to develop in this part of the island.
m.L