The Burkinabe police announced on Tuesday that they had dismantled a group of suspected criminals in Ouagadougou, the capital of the country. In total, five members of the group were apprehended by the police.
As part of the fight against urban insecurity, the National Police, through the District Police Station (CPD) of the commune of Saaba, put an end to the illicit activities of a network of suspected criminals who specialized in diverting trucks carrying various goods (rice, mats, plastic items, etc.) passing through Burkina Faso to other countries in the sub-region.
Modus Operandi Regarding the group’s modus operandi, the gang leader, named N.A. and based in Lome, was responsible for locating trucks that he made available to traders who wanted to load their goods at the port of Lome. He targeted goods that were to transit through Burkina Faso to other countries in the sub-region. Once the trucks were loaded, he acted as an intermediary, especially for paying the transport fees of the drivers with whom he exchanged contacts.
As soon as a driver started and after covering a certain distance, he would call the driver to inform him that the goods would have to be unloaded in Ouagadougou. At the same time, N.A. did his best to reach Ouagadougou before the driver. On-site, he made attractive offers to the driver, such as paying all the transport fees scheduled up to the destination with a bonus ranging from 300,000 to 500,000 CFA francs if he agreed to unload the goods in Ouaga. At the same time, he took care to find customers in Ouagadougou willing to buy the diverted goods.
Thanks to the collaboration of the population, investigators were able to apprehend five (5) members of the group. They were also able to locate and seize a truck and its contents, namely the goods previously diverted and sold, which they repackaged in the said truck and made available to the Mobile Customs Brigade.
It should be noted that five (5) trucks loaded with goods were targeted by the network.
