It was just before 11am when an SMF armoured vehicle, MCIT, SSU, sniffer dogs and police snaked their way through the Mangalkhan streets. In the armoured vehicle were four suspects: Jean Vincent Lacariate, a 32 year-old plumber, Jean François Rajaram, a 19 year-old driver helper, Jean Linley Myrtile, 19, and Stephano LaJeunesse all suspected of the murder of Jean Marc Cotte, 37, from Cité Mangalkhan, after a drunken brawl at a restaurant.

During the exercise, under heavy security, the suspects wore bullet proof clothing and helmets, showing MCIT the exact location of the assault. They showed police how they dragged the man to a football ground where they emptied his pockets and removed his clothes. He was then repeatedly kicked in the head and left to die in a pool of blood. Rocks were found next to the body, and police suspected that these were used to smash Cotte's head.

His body was found on Sunday by a group of boys who came to play football at 7am.

News of the discovery swept through the area like wildfire and the body of Jean was positively identified by his two brothers, Clifford and Jean François.

Sniffer dogs tracked several trails and the victim's shoe was found 400 metres away from the body. Along the road, police also found a blood-smeared t-shirt.

The CPMO, Dr Satish Boolell, certified that death was due to a skull fracture that led to a brain heamorrhage.

The men appeared at the Curepipe Tribunal under a provisional charge of murder and were refused bail. According to police, revenge was the motive of the attack as the victim had recently served a prison sentence and maybe it was a settling of scores between two rival gangs.

The victim’s mobile phone was stolen, and was perhaps in the hands of the suspects. Police hope to be able to trace the murderers.