Section 31: Detention for drug dealing

31. Detention for drug dealing (1) Where any person is arrested under reasonable suspicion of having committed any offence under section 30, 33, 35, 36, 38 or 39, a police officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police may, subject to this section, direct that the person arrested be detained in police custody for a period not exceeding 36 hours from his arrest, without having access to any person other than a police officer not below the rank of Inspector or a Government Medical Officer and, in any such case, that person shall be detained accordingly. (2) No direction under subsection (1) shall be issued unless the police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that giving access to any person other than the police officer not below the rank of Inspector or the Government Medical Officer specified in that subsection— (a) will lead to interference with or harm to evidence connected with an offence under section 30 or 39 or interference with or physical injury to other persons; or [Issue 2] D2 – 18 Revised Laws of Mauritius (b) will lead to the alerting of other persons suspected of having committed such an offence but not yet arrested for it; or (c) will hinder the recovery of property obtained as a result of such an offence; or (d) will hinder the recovery of the value of the detained person’s proceeds of drug trafficking. (3) As soon as a direction is issued under subsection (1), the person detained shall be informed that he may, if he so wishes, be examined by a Government Medical Officer. (4) A custody record containing the information specified in the Sixth Schedule to this Act shall be kept in respect of any person detained pursuant to the powers conferred by this section. (5) A video recording shall be kept in the manner specified in the Seventh Schedule to this Act in respect of any person detained pursuant to the powers conferred by this section. (6) A video recording under this section shall, notwithstanding the common law rule against hearsay, be admissible in evidence in the course of any judicial proceedings to the same extent and in the same manner as documentary evidence would be admissible. (7) In this section, “video recording” includes the recording of visual images or sound by electronic or other technological means. 32. — [S. 32 repealed by s. 5 of Act 30 of 2008 w.e.f. 20 February 2009.]