Three British Citizens Arrested for Smuggling Heroin worth $1.3m in Mauritius

Three British nationals were arrested at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam international airport in Mauritius with more than 3.3 kg of heroin.

Critics have commended the airport authorities and security agencies in East African country for their success in tracking, arresting and confiscating the drugs from the suspects.

The three suspects who were all British citizens purged a total of 282 drug dumplings after it was discovered that they had ingested the drugs.

They were carrying heroin worth about 50 million Mauritian Rupees (over $ 1,350,000) in estimated market value.

Aaron Matthew James, a 42-year-old builder, Ashley Tierney, a 32-year-old bricklayer, and Asa Garbutt, a 37-year-old electrician, were suspected of carrying drugs in their stomachs on arrival at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam international airport in Mauritius.

They were arrested after their arrival in the Green Channel of the SSR airport by officers of the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit and officers of the Mauritius Revenue Authority.

Authorities placed them under surveillance in a bungalow in the seaside resort in Flic-en-Flac, in the west of the East African country located on an Indian Ocean Island.

According to reports, Asa Garbutt and Aaron Matthew James traveled to Thailand before traveling to Kenya where Ashley Tierney joined them. The three men then flew to Mauritius from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Critics also have questions on how they managed to escape arrest and travel from the Nairobi international airport undetected despite the large number of drugs they were carrying.

After a medical examination, they were admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, where they purged the drugs under police surveillance.

Mauritius is an Indian Ocean island nation, it is known for its beaches, lagoons and reefs. The mountainous interior includes Black River Gorges National Park, with rainforests, waterfalls, hiking trails and wildlife like the flying fox. 

The capital city, Port Louis has sites such as the Champs de Mars horse track, Eureka plantation house and 18th-century Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens.

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