Benin: a botched robbery turns tragic in Ouessé

On the night from Wednesday to Thursday, three individuals armed with homemade rifles stormed a farm around 2 a.m. Awakened by the sounds of a break-in, the property owner did not panic: armed with a machete, he went out to confront the assailants and managed to wound one of them during the scuffle.

Frustrated by this unexpected resistance, another robber opened fire but clumsily hit one of his own accomplices. Taking advantage of the confusion, the farmer fled to alert the neighborhood.

Upon his return, the criminals had fled, taking 140,000 CFA francs as well as a Redmi 15C Android phone and a Tecno keypad phone, leaving behind bloodstains and 12-gauge shell casings.

A flight interrupted by the police

The Gbanlin police station, seized of the case, immediately launched a field investigation. The inquiries quickly led investigators to the village of Tozoumè, where the wounded robber was trying to receive treatment discreetly. He was arrested alongside two people who were caring for him.

Subjected to intense questioning and confronted with material evidence, the suspects confessed and helped identify and apprehend the alleged mastermind of the gang.

Subsequent searches led to the seizure of the weapon used in the crime—a rifle carefully buried in a field—as well as the recovery of the two mobile phones stolen during the attack.