Diesel theft in Kérou: a network involving security agents dismantled
A vast diesel diversion network intended for the Chinese company SINOHYDRO has been dismantled by the Republican Police.
The operation, according to Africaho, took place on Tuesday, July 8, within the company’s logistic base in the Kérou municipality, and led to the arrest of several individuals, including security officers stationed on the site.
According to the official report, the Kérou district police station apprehended a group consisting of security officers and other dishonest individuals. They are suspected of having orchestrated illicit fuel trafficking belonging to the Chinese company, responsible for infrastructure works in the region.
More than 1,300 liters of fuel diverted
The police forces first seized twelve cans of 25 liters of diesel in possession of a security officer. Pursuing the investigation, a search was conducted in the warehouses of an identified handler, where the police discovered forty other cans of diesel, bringing the total to more than 1,300 liters diverted.
“The cross-checks indicate a complicity of the site’s security officers with the criminals,” the Republican Police clarified.
An ongoing investigation
The judicial procedure is proceeding. The investigation conducted by the Kérou Police Station aims to identify all perpetrators and accomplices of this organized trafficking. Further arrests are not ruled out.
In a context of enhancing the security around strategic facilities, this operation highlights the challenges related to internal corruption in the surveillance of industrial sites in Benin. The authorities have reaffirmed their determination to pursue all actors in the chain, regardless of their status.