British man, 22, is detained in Mauritius after £250,000 worth of cannabis was seized from his luggage

By SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:45, 8 April 2026 | Updated: 11:45, 8 April 2026 A British man worker has been detained in Mauritius after over £250,000 worth of cannabis was found in his luggage.  Ethan John Tesner was arrested at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) in Mauritius on November 20, after 24 plastic sachets of compressed cannabis leaves were found in his luggage.  Between the several sachets, 13kg of cannabis, worth an estimated street value of 15,768,000 Mauritian Rupees (£251,906.03), was seized upon his arrival from Turkey. When questioned by customs officials, Tesner said he had travelled to the country for a vacation of under a week. However, he was unable to answer some of the questions posted by officers, Le Mauricien reported. He was then led to the Customs Examination Hall, where his luggage was scanned, and unusual items were spotted, sparking a manual search of his suitcase, where the drugs were found in a carefully constructed false bottom.  Tesner faces provisional charges of drug dealing with aggravating circumstances, the importation of cannabis with an averment of trafficking in breach of the county's Dangerous Drug Act.   He previously appeared before the District Court of Grand Port in Mahebourg in November and has since been remanded in jail.  The British High Commission in Mauritius has been notified of the case.  Ethan Tesner, 22, of Colchester, (pictured) was arrested at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on November 20 after 13kg of cannabis was found in his luggage The cannabis divided between 24 sachets had an estimated street value of 15,768,000 Mauritian Rupees (£251,906.03), was seized upon his arrival from Turkey An FCDO spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British man who has been arrested in Mauritius and are in touch with the local authorities.' It comes after two Brits have been taken into custody in Mauritius after a failed bid to smuggle over £3million worth of cannabis into the tropical paradise just a month before his arrest.  Sinead Hart, 22, and Thomas Lee Munro, 29, were arrested after arriving on an Air France flight at Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on October 15.  The duo were questioned moments after collecting luggage from their long-haul flight departing from Charles de Gaulles, Paris, due to 'abnormalities' in their behaviour.  After they were quickly intercepted, officers began to suspect the duo as they were travelling together, but knew very little about one another.  Around £3million (185,800,000 Mauritian Rupees) worth of cannabis was later found in the Brits' luggage, wrapped in nineteen packages.  Ten parcels of the 'green gold' were found on the mother's person, while nine were discovered in Munro's luggage.  After a rapid test confirmed the parcels were hashish, and the alleged smugglers claimed someone in Britain had handed them their baggage.  The duo agreed to help the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (ASDU) in a controlled delivery operation at the Blue Bay hotel, where they were both staying.  British mother, Sinead Hart, 22 (pictured) and Thomas Lee Munro were arrested after arriving at Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on October 15  The British duo were found with £3million (185,800,000 Mauritian Rupees) worth of cannabis in their luggage (Pictured: Sinead Hart) Here, officers arrested two men, Roshan Ramdin and Kenny Seerungun, after they arrived and appeared to collect the imported drugs.  The two suspects had been staying at the hotel with their respective wives in room numbers 105 and 106.  Searches found 45,500 Mauritian Rupees (£746.60), heroin, two pregabalin tablets, ten cannabis seeds and three mobile phones in Ramdin's room with his wife Covila.  When questioned by authorities, Ramdin alleged that the money belonged to his wife who was nowhere to be found during the raid, Defi Media reported. Meanwhile, 8,950 Mauritian Rupees (£146.99) and two mobile phones were discovered in Seerungun's room.  Mrs Ramdin was later arrested by the ASDU, who had been searching for her since October 17, when she appeared to meet her husband outside the Mahebourg court.  Inquiries into the husband and wife, as well as Seerungun, regarding the importation of hashish between England and Mauritius remains ongoing.  Hart and Munro are currently behind bars on the island after they were refused bail as they prepare to be tried. Shania Wood, 25, of Luton was arrested on the island along with seven others after being found with £4million worth of cannabis in their suitcases earlier this year Fellow Brit, Alethea Jade Demitre, was also detained in what has been described as 'one of the largest' drug seizures at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on May 29 The two face provisional charges of drug dealing with aggravating circumstances, resin with an averment of trafficking in breach of the Dangerous Drug Act.  An FCDO spokesperson said: 'We are supporting three British nationals who have been detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.' Another British national, Mohammed Abubakr Hussain, 24, was arrested after being found with £525,537.52 (32 million Mauritian Rupees) worth of cannabis at the same airport on October 12, 2025. He faces provisional charges of drug dealing with aggravating circumstances of cannabis with an averment of trafficking in breach of the Dangerous Drugs Act.  It comes after three British women were detained in Mauritius after a group of nine passengers were found with over £4million worth of cannabis in their suitcases.  Shania Mabel Rosalind Wood, Alethea Jade Demitre and Chloe Nancy Parker were arrested in what was described as 'one of the largest' drug seizures at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (SSR) on May 29.  Between eight suitcases 212kg of cannabis, worth an estimated street value of 254.5 million Mauritian rupees (£4,104,353.22), was seized upon their arrival EK703 from Dubai, at around 4.40pm local time. Wood, 25, was found with 30 packages of the class B drug weighing 31.10kg, while fellow Brit Demitre, 33, was discovered with 31.11kg of cannabis across 46 packages.  Daniel Jonathan Pearson (pictured) was also taken into custody despite having no drugs in his possession as he is believed to have been the ringleader behind the operation Eighteen-year-old Parker was also found with 46 packages of the drug weighing at 44.95kg.  The five arrested, which include both Dominican and Portuguese nationals, were Hansel Gomez, Esequiel Perez, Ildo Valera De Brito, Luis Manuel Herrera Martinez and Soraia Cristina Da Silva Cruz. Another Brit, Daniel Jonathan Pearson, was also taken into custody despite having no drugs in his possession. He is believed to have been the ringleader supervising the eight drug mules, Defi media reported.  It is suggested that Pearson was going to create a diversion at the checkpoint to allow the drug smugglers to pass through unchecked. However, the airport's Anti-Drug & Smuggling Unit (ADSU), officers from the Customs Anti-Narcotics Section (CANS) of the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) foiled their operation.  Wood, Demitre and Parker faced provisional charges of the importation of cannabis, while Pearson faces charges of drug dealing with aggravating circumstances and managing the importation of cannabis with an averment of trafficking. They face anywhere between 25 to 60 years behind bars if found guilty of their crimes.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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