The Saint-Louis central police station, under the direction of Chief Superintendent Mamadou L. Diallo, has just dealt a decisive blow to counterfeit currency trafficking in the region. This spectacular operation, carried out on Friday, August 8, resulted in the arrest of an individual in possession of a large sum of counterfeit banknotes, following a chase that led him to the waters of the Senegal River.

Intelligence-led intervention

The operation originated from specific information passed on to the police. The officers stationed at the Saint-Louis bus station had been alerted to the presence of an individual in possession of a large quantity of counterfeit banknotes in this busy area.

This information, diligently exploited by the police, demonstrates the effectiveness of the intelligence network set up to combat criminal activities in the capital of northern Senegal.

A spectacular leak in the river

The police intervention took a particular turn as soon as the police arrived on the scene. Mr. Diop, identifying himself as a coffee seller, immediately detected the police presence and attempted to flee, triggering a breathless chase through the streets of Saint-Louis.

In his desperate escape, the suspect did not hesitate to dive into the Senegal River, hoping to escape the police officers on his trail. This extreme action reveals the trafficker's awareness of the gravity of his situation and the importance of the evidence he was carrying.

However, this desperate maneuver proved futile. The police, demonstrating exemplary professionalism, managed to rescue him and arrest him, recovering in the process the bag containing the counterfeit bills that the fugitive had tried to abandon in the river waters, according to Seneweb sources.

A search of the bag recovered from the river revealed the scale of the criminal operation. Police discovered 420,000 CFA francs, consisting of forty-two 10,000 franc bills, all counterfeit. This significant sum demonstrates the professional nature of this counterfeit money trafficking.

Confessions that shed light on the network

Taken to the central police station in Saint-Louis, Mr. Diop made no attempt to deny the charges against him. During his interrogation, he "unambiguously admitted the facts," providing important details about how this cross-border trafficking operates.

According to his statements, the operation was initiated by MM, a Gambian national presented as a relative. The latter had offered him a particularly lucrative "deal": exchanging 200,000 authentic CFA francs for 500,000 CFA francs in counterfeit notes.

A cross-border network unveiled

The suspect's revelations helped reconstruct the operational scheme of this trafficking. The transaction took place on Thursday, August 7 in Kaolack, where Mr. Diop handed over the sum of 200,000 CFA francs to his Gambian accomplice in exchange for the counterfeit banknotes.

The ultimate goal of the operation was to transport this counterfeit currency to Rosso, in Mauritania, thus revealing the cross-border dimension of this trafficking which exploits the porous nature of West African borders.

Heavy criminal charges

The suspect was taken into custody for a series of particularly serious offenses: possession, forgery, counterfeiting, and uttering counterfeit currency. These multiple criminal charges reflect the complexity of the criminal activity and expose Mr. Diop to severe penalties.

The circulation of counterfeit money constitutes a direct attack on the integrity of the monetary system and can have major economic consequences, justifying the severity of the sanctions provided for by law.