Mauritius: Prime Minister Is Resolute to Tackle Drug Scourge in Mauritius

The fight against drug trafficking and use will be one of the major priorities of Government and several bold actions will be taken to deal with this national scourge.

The Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, made this pledge yesterday in the National Assembly in reply to a Parliamentary Question pertaining to the proliferation of drugs and the extent of damage caused by synthetic drugs in Mauritius. He announced the setting up of a National Drug Policy, Monitoring and Coordination Agency that will bring together various public bodies that will combat drug trafficking, provide rehabilitation and support families of victims of drug abuse under one roof. Mr Sam Lauthan will be the Chairperson of this agency.

Prime Minister Ramgoolam said that additional resources will be provided to the Police to increase its capacity to deal more efficiently with drug trafficking and related issues. The legal provisions in respect of trafficking, consumption and treatment of drug addicts will be reviewed to cater, inter alia, for differentiated treatment of traffickers and consumers.

The Prime Minister recalled that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducted a detailed assessment of the threats posed by synthetic drugs. As part of this assessment, in July 2024, the UNODC team conducted a study on synthetic drugs in Mauritius. Some of the main findings of the UNODC report are, amongst others:

drug rehabilitation efforts within the public sector remain severely limited;

among the six Eastern African countries, Mauritius has been identified as the leading user of synthetic cannabinoids;

although methadone treatment is available, other forms of treatment remain underdeveloped and inadequate for addressing various types of addiction;

psychological support and interventions, including traditional medicine and religious counselling where available, need further strengthening; and

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with limited resources and insufficient follow-up strategies, many individuals either fail to complete inpatient treatment or relapse after finishing it.

Government will ensure that actions being taken in the combat against drug are aligned with the recommendations made in the UNODC report, said Dr Ramgoolam.

As per the Global Organised Crime Index 2023 Mauritius was ranked at the 7th place with regard to synthetic drug market behind South Africa among the Western Indian Ocean States.

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