In provisional detention since May 2023, a police officer serving at the Central Office for the Repression of Cybercrime (OCRC) and his co-defendant appeared before the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (Criet) on Thursday, July 27, 2023. They are charged with “passive traffic of influence” and “complicity in passive traffic of influence.”
An OCRC agent caught in the grip of Criet in a case involving 50,000 FCFA. He allegedly took this amount from an alleged cybercriminal and drug dealer to shield him from any police intervention. Unexpectedly, it was the alleged cybercriminal himself who filed a complaint against the police officer.
Following this complaint, the officer was first heard by the OCRC Commissioner. After the hearing, he decided to hand over the case to the Economic and Financial Brigade. This is how the republican police officer found himself before Criet.
At the trial, he denied the charges against him. According to Libre Express, the police officer pleaded not guilty. In his statement, he explained to the Court that he did not go to apprehend the alleged cybercriminal. According to him, he just wanted to warn the person about his illicit activities.
A discussion that turned into an altercation The exchanges between the two men, who both lived in Cococodji, turned sour. However, the police officer himself allegedly defused the situation. In an attempt to calm everyone down, he reportedly received an amount of 50,000 FCFA from the alleged cybercriminal and drug dealer.
At the hearing, the public prosecutor qualified the police officer’s actions as “passive traffic of influence.” He requested the Court to sentence the OCRC agent and his co-defendant to 5 years in prison, with 3 years to be served and a fine of one million CFA francs.
On the defense side, they argued that the offenses mentioned by the public prosecutor were not established. Therefore, they requested the complete acquittal of the police officer. The judge’s verdict is expected on October 12, 2023.
