Allegations made by social worker Ally Lazer, who started an anti-drug campaign 23 years ago, on a list of at least 200 suspected drug dealers, may have taken a serious credibility test last Friday when Liz Coindreau cut short a holiday trip to London to clear her name. She said that she has nothing whatsoever to do with drug trafficking and that she had been unjustly accused by Ally Lazer. She has decided to release all possible information on the source of her fortune and threatened him with a private prosecution.

Suspicion against Liz Coindreau may have stemmed from what she calls her ?unfortunate past?. Her sister Clivy is in prison for drug trafficking, her driver has been arrested on her own premises in possession of drugs. Her mother?s boyfriend is said to have died of an overdose. But Liz Coindreau denies this and says that the man was a heavy drinker and died of hepatitis.

Ally Lazer told l?express yesterday that he has never mentioned Liz Coindreau?s name or implied that she is the ?godmother? of Flic-en-Flac. ?The name of that godmother will be known very soon,? he said. According to him, drug eradication is an impossible mission as long as the political world tries to cover up for any?godfather? or ?godmother?.

In fact, according to him, drug trafficking is ?business as usual? despite recent tremors felt because of his efforts and the Deelchand affair. If the business is highly risky, the profits are also very high. One kg of brown sugar bought at Rs 150 000 in India yields almost Rs 2 million on the local market. The temptation has outweighed the risks and many importers are still very active on the market.

The Deelchand affair has dissuaded neither dealers nor addicts and the market for brown sugar and gandia is thriving, says Ally Lazer. ?We had two peaks in drug addiction, one in 1987 and one in 1999 with a pill called Subutex. The situation has deteriorated recently and, on the street, offer may soon exceed demand.?

According to this social worker, who is in contact with drug addicts in the Idrice Goomanee rehabilitation centre in Plaine-Verte, the price of a ?dose? of brown sugar has gone down. It is now being sold at Rs 150 instead of Rs 200. A drug addict uses three doses per day. This situation may give rise to drug pushing in the island where there may not be more than 35 000 drug addicts, says Ally Lazer.

Addiction starts earlier

This figure comes from a recent brainstorming session between social workers and the authorities. However, the Anti-drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU) denies that the price has gone down. Police sergeant Mahen Ungoo says that the drug market knows neither credit nor sales. He admits however, that his unit has made no survey of the drug market. According to him, brown sugar and gandia are being sold in towns and in villages.

Lindsay Morvan, another social worker of the Natresa, says that brown sugar is being sold according to a modus operandi, which is now well known. Importers have their henchmen and addicts know where and when the drug will be sold.

?When you see for example six to ten persons sitting by the street in a particular region, and some of these men are unknown there, you are sure that there will be a delivery. But the place of delivery changes each time and it is difficult for the police to throw their net. It all happens very quickly.? Lindsay Morvan is confident that drugs will one day be wiped out .

Ally Lazer does not share his opinion. ?It is a pity, for more and more youngsters are being hooked. Formerly, we had addiction from people aged above 25. Now, you see addicts, as young as 13 years old. One child died of an overdose at the age of 12?.

At the ADSU, different reasons are put forward to explain the difficulty of controlling drug consumption.?Mauritius is an island and the points of entry are numerous. Gandia may enter the island from Madagascar not only through the port, but through any part of the lagoon,? says Mahen Ugnoo. He also underlines the fact that brown sugar, a very low quality heroin, is now being imported not only from India but from many parts of Africa.

Ally Lazer has another reading of the situation. ?The fact that 18 kilos of brown sugar has been discovered in Plaine-Verte means that the police and the customs department have failed in their task.? He is adamant: some traffickers are being protected.

?How do you explain the fact that one Issoop Tole caught with 18 kilos of brown sugar has been prosecuted in the intermediate court and sentenced to 18 years, whereas some people, caught with only five grams of brown sugar have been tried in the assises and sentenced to 45 years,? Ally Lazer insists. One politician has been indulging in drug trafficking and his name was 17th on a list of more than 200 drug traffickers handed to the prime minister.