Cotonou Airport: dismantling of a passport-trafficking network; two police officers remanded in custody.

A network trafficking in fraudulent passports was uncovered at the Cardinal-Bernardin Gantin International Airport in Cotonou, leading to the arrest of several people, including two officers of the Republican Police, according to local press.

The operation, conducted by the Economic and Financial Brigade, resulted in the apprehension of the two police officers identified as being involved in a network facilitating the obtaining and use of fraudulent passports for foreigners.

These documents would in particular enable nationals of conflict-affected countries, listed on international watch lists, to travel without being turned back.

According to the investigation’s findings, some of the individuals involved traveled from the Cotonou airport to European destinations before being identified and repatriated by French authorities, which triggered the investigations.

The arrested police officers are suspected of having facilitated these operations in exchange for substantial sums, amounting to several hundreds of thousands of CFA francs.

Presented before the Court for the Repression of Economic and Terrorist Offences (CRIET), the two officials were remanded in custody pending their trial, while other suspects remain the subject of ongoing investigations.

The investigation continues to identify all the network’s ramifications and potential complicities, both nationally and internationally.