Five arrested for poaching

Police and coast guard personnel arrested five men in a boat near Denis Island early Saturday October 11 on charges of turtle poaching.

In a joint operation between the police, the coast guard and the Ministry of Environment, the men were taken by surprise as police raided the boat while they were sleeping at around 3.30 a.m., officials said.

Police seized up to an estimated 100 kilograms of turtle meat on the boat.

Officials said they could not disclose the name of the boat’s owner due to legal reasons.

Rolph Payet, acting principal secretary for the environment ministry in the absence of Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, said that the ministry had been monitoring a number of vessels on suspicion of turtle poaching. 

Mr Payet said that the ministry received a phone call on Friday from an eyewitness who claimed to have seen the alleged poachers, which led to authorities taking action.

The task force left Mahe at around midnight on Friday after they had received the tip, Mr Payet said.

The ministry hopes that the arrest will send a strong message to turtle poachers that there is a price to pay for their actions, Mr Payet said, noting that many poachers have become increasingly bold and arrogant in their disrespect of the law.

Mr Payet said it appeared the prevailing attitude among poachers was that they were virtually untouchable. 

The ministry, he said, has received reports of poachers conducting their illegal activities in broad daylight and in public view.

The profoundness of the ministry’s intended message to poachers could be influenced today, when Chief Justice Vivekanand Allear will hear the cases of six men who pleaded guilty to poaching charges stemming from an incident at Providence in February. 

Two other men arrested in connection with the incident pleaded not guilty to the same charges.  Their cases are ongoing.

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